- 21
ANTHONY HAMILTON
HIS LIFE AND WORKS AND HIS FAMILY
fry IValker
ANTHONY HAMILTON
From a painting in the National Portrait Gallery
ANTHONY HAMILTON
(AUTHOR OF MEMOIRS OF COUNT GRAM-
MONT) HIS LIFE AND WORKS AND HIS
FAMILY BY RUTH CLARK WITH
TWO PORTRAITS fig fig fig fig
LONDON: JOHN LANE, THE BODLEY IJEAD
NEW YORK: JOHN LANE COMPANY. MCMXXI
Dfl
If 37
7A* Mayfltwer Press, Plvmeuth, England. William Brendon & Son, Ltd.
PREFACE
MADAME NECKER once remarked that there
were three works characteristically French
the Letters of Madame de Sevigne, La Fon-
taine's Fables and the Memoires de Grammont. 1
And the last-named of these characteristically French
works was written, as we know, by an Irishman of Scottish
extraction. It is the story of his life that the following
pages propose to relate, it is his book " of all books the
most exquisitely French, both in spirit and in manner "
the phrase is Macaulay's that this essay intends to dis-
cuss, along with his other works, less well known, but not
less rich in that graceful wit and light irony which were
Saint-fivremond's before him and Voltaire's after him.
Hamilton's life was a long and adventurous one ; on a
childhood of poverty and privation, on a dashing youth,
followed years of responsibility and work not always
successful, and an old age that brought with it disappoint-
ment and bitterness ; and yet singularly little is known
about this life, the last twenty or thirty years except ed.
It has therefore been necessary to include an account of
his brothers, interesting in varying degrees, to bring in
more family history than may at first seem justified, for
thus only was it possible to write a fairly continuous
chronicle, and thus it is, for instance, that George Hamil-
ton's military career in France is very fully described,
because we know that Anthony accompanied him and
served with him in the regiment d' Hamilton, even though
contemporary accounts mention him only twice or thrice.
1 Melanges, II, p. 33 (Paris, An. VI, 1798, vieux style),
vii
viii ANTHONY HAMILTON
Considerable space has been devoted to the regiment
d' Hamilton, for it seemed interesting, at a time when our
army and the French were fighting side by side, to give
the story of this Irish regiment serving in France, and
although mention is made of the regiments Royal Anglais
(horse and foot, also called Monmouth) and Douglas, much
more might be said about them. Possibly this sketch may
suggest to some one more qualified to undertake it a history
of the English, Scottish and Irish regiments serving in
France from 1671 to 1678.
I know that some of the periods I have touched upon
in this Life have already been very fully treated, e.g. the
Revolution in Ireland and the exile in France ; in those
cases I have endeavoured to be brief and to make use
especially of less well-known sources, in order to avoid
producing what William Beckford once described as
" literary aliment already reduced to a caput mortuum by
repeated ste wings."
The introductions to the various editions of the Memoires
de Grammont usually give some space to the life and works
of Hamilton, but the best account of Hamilton's life is
to be found in the Dictionary of National Biography, and
as regards a critical estimate of his works, I have derived
most benefit from Professor Saintsbury's article in the
Fortnightly Review for October, 1890,* and Mr. Stephen
Gwynn's article in Macmillan's Magazine for May, 1898.
The only monograph that has been written on Hamilton
is a German thesis, Antoine d' Hamilton, sein Leben und
seine Werke, by Wilhelm Kissenberth, Rostock, 1907
(114 pp.), and while it may satisfy a German public to
whom Hamilton is scarcely a figure of paramount import-
ance, the discussion of Hamilton's works is superficial and
the biographical part brings us nothing that we do not
know from the Dictionary of National Biography or from
M. de Boislisle's notes in his admirable edition of Saint-
Simon, 2 Dr. Kissenberth not having consulted or not
1 And reprinted the year following in Essays on French Novelists.
8 I confess myself greatly indebted to these notes.
PREFACE ix
having been able to consult the archives of the Ministere
des Affaires fitrangeres and of the Ministere de la Guerre,
or any of the English manuscript sources. Moreover, the
Hamilton brothers, especially Anthony and Richard, are
frequently confused.
A word of explanation is necessary to justify my use
of the spelling Gramont and Grammont. Gramont is the
correct spelling, and whenever I have spoken of the family
I have used it ; but Hamilton's Memoirs were first published
as Memoires de la Vie du Comte de Grammont, and as this
spelling has been retained in almost all subsequent editions,
I have found myself obliged to use this spelling when
alluding to the work.
In quoting Hamilton, I refer to the (Euvres completes,
Paris, A. A. Renouard, 1812, 3 vols., and to Mr. Gordon
Goodwin's English edition of the Memoirs, 1903, 2 vols.
My very sincere thanks are due to M. G. Reynier, Pro-
fessor of French Literature at the Sorbonne, who, some
years ago, first suggested this subject to me and was always
ready to counsel my inexperience; to Professor Saints-
bury, Professor Sir Richard Lodge, and Professor Sarolea
of Edinburgh University; to Mr. Tilley of Cambridge
and to Dr. Hedgcock, formerly English lector at the Sor-
bonne, who all gave me the benefit of their kind advice ;
to the Marquis of Ormonde for a copy of a letter of Hamil-
ton's in his possession ; to M. C. Magnier, Conservateur
de la Bibliotheque de Saint-Quentin, who himself copied
out for me a lengthy letter attributed to Hamilton ; x and
1 This is a letter written from Tunbridge, partly in prose and partly in
verse, as most of Hamilton's letters are. It shows the very pronounced
influence of Voiture that is to be found in Hamilton's letters. The allusions
to Amadis and Oriana are very characteristic of Hamilton. ' Comme il
plait a Dieu ' is a favourite phrase of Hamilton's, and it is used in this
letter. " Je ne vous diray rien des dehors, ils sont comme il plaist a Dieu
qui en scait bien plus que Mr. Mansard."
On the other hand the writer writes as a Frenchman would have written
from England, and when all is said, the letter is coarse. Now the charge of
coarseness can certainly not be brought against Hamilton, of whatever
else he may be accused. I do not reproduce the letter as I do not believe
it to be by Hamilton ; had it been by Hamilton, his reputation would have
gained nothing from publication of the document in question.
x ANTHONY HAMILTON
to Miss Symonds ('George Paston'), Baron Sackville, Mr.
D. C. Boulger, Mr. Forde of Seaforde, Co. Down, Mr. David
Hannay, Mr. J. D. Milner of the National Portrait Gallery,
Mr. W. M. Nolan of Limerick and Mr. R. L. Praeger of the
Royal Irish Academy for various information.
I have met with much kindness in the different libraries
where I worked. I should like, however, to make special
mention of the unfailing courtesy shown to me at the
Archives, both of the Ministre de la Guerre and the Minis-
tre des Affaires fitrangeres.
And, lastly, I owe everything to the Carnegie Trust for
the Universities of Scotland. It was as a Research Scholar
of the Trust that I undertook this work, it is with the
aid of a grant that it is being published, and if anything
has been accomplished, it is entirely due to the assistance
of the Trust, which has done so much towards the promoting
of original research in Scotland.
RUTH CLARK.
September,
CONTENTS
PART I
CHAPTER PACK
I. FAMILY HISTORY ....... i
II. JAMES HAMILTON. THE CHEVALIER DE GRAMONT . 12
III. THE GENDARMES ANGLAIS. GRAMONT AND BUCKING-
HAM ........ 28
IV. THE REGIMENT D'HAMILTON . . . . -42
V. THE REGIMENT D'HAMILTON (cont.). DEATH OF
GEORGE HAMILTON. RICHARD HAMILTON . . 52
VI. THE HAMILTONS AND THE WAR IN IRELAND . . 74
VII. MADAME DE GRAMONT ...... 109 */
VIII. THE HAMILTONS IN EXILE 124 ,
IX. THE POET OF SAINT-GERMAIN. DEATH OF GRAMONT 138
X. THE END 155
PART II
I. INTRODUCTORY . . . . . . .171
II. THE MEMOIRES DE GRAMMONT .... 190
III. THE TALES 231
IV. MINOR WORKS 266
XI
xii ANTHONY HAMILTON
APPENDICES
PAOE
A? I ER ARTICLES FOR RAISING THE REGIMENT D'HAMILTON
IN 1671 . ..... 2 ?7
II. LETTER FROM GEORGE HAMILTON TO SIR JOSEPH
WILLIAMSON . . 279
III. LETTER FROM ANTHONY HAMILTON TO RUVIGNY . 281
IV. LETTER FROM GRAMONT TO THE DUKE OF ORMONDE . 283
V. INSTRUCTIONS TO GRAMONT ON HIS MISSION TO ENG-
LAND IN 1688 ....... 28 4
VI. LETTERS FROM JAMES II TO RICHARD HAMILTON . 285
VII LETTERS FROM MARY OF MODENA TO RICHARD HAMIL-
VIII. NOTES ON THE HAMILTON PORTRAITS . 2 99
IX. MANUSCRIPT COPIES OF THE MEMOIRES DE GRAMMONT 301
X. AN UNPUBLISHED POEM BY HAMILTON . . . 3 10
LIST OF MANUSCRIPT COPIES OF HAMILTON'S WORKS
AND LETTERS . ' 3
BIBLIOGRAPHY 3 J 3
AUTHORITIES ....... 3 2 7
INDEX ......... 337
ILLUSTRATIONS
ANTHONY HAMILTON ...... Frontispiece
From a painting in the National Portrait Gallery. Photo by EMERY WAI KER.
ANTHONY HAMILTON r , r , Facing page 190
Xlll
PART I
ANTHONY HAMILTON
CHAPTER I
1610-1660
FAMILY HISTORY
APHONY HAMILTON was born about 1645,
perhaps in the county of Tyrone, perhaps in
the county of Tipperary. Not much is known
about the first part of his life, and the scantiness
of detail which his biographers have to acknowledge makes
itself felt from the very beginning. It is, however, possible
to say something about his father and grandfather and
to explain how the Abercorn branch of the great Scottish
house of Hamilton was at this time settled in Ireland.
The reign of James I will be for ever memorable in Ireland
for the Great Plantation in Ulster. The circumstances that
led up to this measure need not be discussed here ;
1610 it will be sufficient to say that a certain proportion
of the escheated lands was set aside for Scottish
undertakers, and that amongst the most important and
influential of these undertakers was Anthony Hamilton's
grandfather James, first Earl of Abercorn, a special favourite
of the King's. He received in 1610 two grants of land
amounting to 3000 acres in the Precinct of Strabane,
county Tyrone. Of the seven other Scottish undertakers
settled in the precinct, two were his brothers, Sir Claud and
Sir George Hamilton, who held adjacent lands, one was
a kinsman, Sir George Hamilton of Bynning, and another
was his brother-in-law, Sir Thomas Boyd, all men of some
standing and representing not a little of the power of
Renfrewshire. 1
1 Hill, The Plantation in Ulster, pp. 288-292.
2 ANTHONY HAMILTON
It had been intended originally to divide the land by lot,
but the Lord Deputy, Sir Arthur Chichester, had wisely
pointed out that the arrangement would prevent persons
wishing to ' plant ' together from undertaking at all ;
this was abandoned and the more satisfactory arrange-
ment of establishing communities of relatives and friends
adopted.
The Hamiltons proved to be amongst the most successful
of the undertakers, and though the Earl of Abercorn speaks
about the ' hardnes ' of his ' beginningis in this kyngdome/ 1
they prospered above all others in that part of the country, 2
a prosperity which was largely due to the energy with which
the settlers undertook their new duties. In 1611, the
year after the allotment of the lands, when many of the
undertakers had not yet even appeared, the Earl of Aber-
corn had already taken up residence with his wife and
family ; his tenants, ' all Scottishmen,' had built sixty
houses and preparations for the building of a fair castle
were being made. 3 In 1614 his portion of lands had
doubled. 4
When the Earl died in 1617 James, his eldest son, was
about sixteen, and George, the fourth son, who was to be
Anthony Hamilton's father, not more than eleven or
twelve years old. 5 The family gradually seems to have
identified itself with the cause of the Catholics, though the
settlement was certainly intended to be a Protestant one.
There is nothing to prove that the Earl was a Catholic,
but his father, Lord Claud Paisley, had joined the Church
of Rome, his brothers Sir Claud and Sir George, held the
same faith, and his wife, Marion Boyd, on whom the educa-
tion of the children devolved, got herself into serious
trouble with the Privy Council of Scotland for her indiscreet
zeal as a ' Papist.' 6 And gradually the Lord Justice of
Ireland and others came to the conclusion that King James's
policy of planting civilization and Protestantism in the
county of Tyrone had not had the good effect expected
I.P
Letters and State Papers of the Reign of James VI, p. 239.
Stewart's MS. History of Ireland, quoted in Hanna, The Scotch Irish,
550.
Cal. St. P., Carew, 1603-1624, p. 77.
Registers of the Privy Council of Scotland, X, p. 263.
Archdall Lodge, Peerage of Ireland, V, pp. iio-m and note.
Registers of the Privy Council of Scotland, I-IV, New Series, passim.
FAMILY HISTORY 3
from it ; the Hamiltons, very different from some of the
settlers who had ' planted ' their estates with pious ministers
from their county, were accused of harbouring the Papists
ejected from Scotland and of drawing Priests and Jesuits
to Strabane. Sir George Hamilton the elder, uncle of our
George Hamilton, was considered a dangerous man, and
various orders were given to remove him out of the kingdom
if he continued to be a recusant Papist. The Barony of
Strabane, it was said, had become the sink into which all
the corrupt humours purged out of Scotland ran. 1
As for George Hamilton the younger, he had in 1627
obtained Sir Roger Hope's Company of Foot, 2 and in
1629 3 ne married the third daughter of Thomas Viscount
Thurles, the Hon. Mary Butler, who for fifty years was
to be his faithful companion. Though little enough is known
about her, it would seem that she was not unworthy of her
brother, the Duke of Ormonde, at that time Lord Thurles.
Six sons and three daughters were born to them James,
George, Anthony, Thomas, Richard and John, Elizabeth,
la belle Gramont, Lucia, married to Sir Donogh O'Brien
of Lemineagh, and Margaret, married in January, 1688,
to Matthew Ford of Coolgreny in the county of Wexford. 4
According to some authorities George Hamilton was created
a baronet of Nova Scotia in 1634 an( i a baronet of Ireland
in 1660 ; there is some difficulty about his title, 6 but in
1 Cal. St. P., Ireland, 1611-1614, p. 483 ; 1625-1632, pp. 499, 509-513 ;
1625-1660, Addenda, p. 173. Hist. MSS. Comm. Reports, N.S., Franciscan
MSS., Dublin, p. 18.
2 Archdall Lodge, Peerage of Ireland, V, p. 117.
8 Ib., p. 118 note.
* Ib. pp. 119-20.
5 Cf. G.E.C.'s Complete Peerage, under Strabane. " In Wood's Douglas
(Vol. I, p. 6) this George Hamilton is said to have been ' cr. a Baronet of
Ireland in 1660,' but in the first edition (1764) of Douglas's Peerage it is
merely stated that he was created a Baronet, neither the date nor the
kingdom being specified. In Lodge's Peerage he is called a Baronet of
Nova Scotia, as he is also in the first edition of that work. This last is the
earliest mention of any baronetcy, for neither in ' Crawfurd,' 1716, nor
' Crossley ' is such a dignity mentioned. No record of any such creation
appears in either kingdom, and it is stated in Lodge (V, 121) that Sir
George's grandson and heir, James Hamilton, ' declined after his grand-
father's death to use the title of Baronet, being usually called " Captain"
Hamilton, till in 1701 he succeeded as Earl of Abercorn.' He in his
marriage licence 24 Jan., 1683-4, is called James Hamilton, Esq. In the
absence of any proof of creation, any recognition, or indeed any
authentic proof of the user of this Baronetcy, the inference seems to be
that it never existed."
4 ANTHONY HAMILTON
contemporary accounts, and long before the Restoration,
he is always alluded to as Sir George Hamilton. He is
described as a man of steady loyalty and great gallantry,
though he suffered both imprisonment and loss of his
commission on account of his faith. 1
During the Rebellion Hamilton made himself very
useful to Charles, though the precise nature of his services
is not known, nor do we know how his property fared in
those troublous times, except that sixteen persons were
cruelly murdered at Doonally where Sir George employed
some English families to work the silver mines. 2 Strabane
Castle was also burned by Phelim O'Neill, who carried
off Claud Hamilton's widow, Hamilton's sister-in-law. 3
Throughout this time of stress Sir George was a staunch
ally to Ormonde and was employed by him on confidential
missions. 4 During Ormonde's Viceroyalty he was governor
of Nenagh Castle. In September, 1646, Owen O'Neill,
at the head of his Ulstermen, took Roscrea (which had
formerly belonged to Sir George Hamilton the elder) and
according to Carte 6 ' put man, woman and child to the
sword except the Lady Hamilton, sister to the Marquis of
Ormonde, and a few gentlewomen whom he kept prisoners/
It is on the strength of this statement, probably, that
Anthony Hamilton's biographers have assigned to Roscrea
the honour of being his birth-place, as Anthony was sup-
posed to have been born in 1646. He was, however, at this
time at least a year old, 6 but it is quite possible, of course,
that he was born at Roscrea. Lady Hamilton was still
living there in 1649 ; 7 Sir George may have inherited the
property from his uncle.
1 Crawfurd's History of the Shire of Renfrew, p. 288 ; Archdall Lodge,
V, p. 117 ; Carte's Life of Ormonde, I, pp. 209-10 ; Hist. MSS. Comm. t
$th Report, Appendix, p. 352.
* Carte, I, p. 270.
9 Archdall Lodge, V, p. 114 n. ; Hickson, Ireland in the ijth Century,
I. P- 332.
4 Carte, I, pp. 571, 601 ; II, pp. 23, 38 ; III, pp. 178, 179, 214. Hist.
MSS. Comm., Ormonde MSS., New Series, I, pp. 57-58. Castlehaven,
Memoirs, p. 79. Thirty-Second Report of the Deputy- Keeper of Public
Records, App. I, p. 20.
* Carte, I, p. 584.
* In his Acte d'inhumation, dated April 22nd, 1719, he is described as
being seventy-four years old.
7 Thirty-Second Report of the Deputy- Keeper of Public Records
App. I, p. 85.
FAMILY HISTORY 5
In January, 1649, * after the peace between the Lord
Lieutenant and the Confederates, Sir George was appointed
Receiver-General of the Revenues for Ireland, in the place
of the Earl of Roscommon, who had died, 2 no easy post
at a time of such financial difficulties, the multiplicity of
receivers in no wise lightening the task. The weekly
applotments of money, corn, bread, matches, etc., levelled
on the counties had often to be brought in by the troops
which Ormonde sorely needed elsewhere, and we find Sir
George ' going abroad with some horse ' to bring in what
he can, excusing himself for not sending his own company
of foot to Ormonde, they being employed in the same
way. 3
With Cromwell's successful campaign in Ireland
Ormonde's authority waned among the Confederates,
and the clerical reaction and the condemnation of the
Protestant Viceroy by the Catholic clergy were not without
affecting the position of Sir George Hamilton, Catholic
though he was. When Ormonde left the kingdom in Decem-
ber, 1650, Sir George would have accompanied him with
his family, but the clergy having unjustly questioned his
honesty as Receiver-General, he was obliged to stay and
clear his name, which he did successfully. 4
In the spring of 1651 took place, at last, the event which
had such a determining influence on the fate of the
young Hamiltons. Sir George Hamilton left his
country for France with his family, just as in happier circum-
1 New Style. All the years throughout this narrative are made to
begin in January.
* Cal. Clarendon Papers, II, p. 36. Thirty-Second Report of the Deputy-
Keeper of Public Records, App. I, p. 77.
One of the letters Sir George wrote at this time to Lauderdale is pre-
served at the British Museum :
" MY DEAR LORD, I send this att hazard in hope itt may feind you yitt
in holland, Itt shall onlye bee the conveyor of my most obliged service,
with the assurance of the peace conclouded here, butt iff itt bee aprehended
anye graette use can be made of itt elswhaer withoutt monye bieng other-
ways provydid for, the mistaeke may prouve greatt and the inconveniense
graeter. The bearer Byron a person of greatt honor goeth fully instructid
of our condicioun and resoloucion. E. Lanwick hath laetlye sent collonel
Johne Hamilton hither to Lo. Ormond from whome you nou have a letter,
ther are good harts still in Scotland and money will get them help from
freinds. My Lord, your most faithfull humble servantt G. HAMILTON.
Kilkennye 26th of Janauarij 1648." (MS. 23,113 f. 24.) The last part of
the letter is in cypher.
8 Hist. MSS. Comm., Ormonde MSS., New Series, I, pp. 133, 136,
4 Carte, II, p. 138,
6 ANTHONY HAMILTON
stances his father had taken his young family from
Scotland to Ireland. Hamilton was accompanied by his
wife, his seven children Anthony must then have been
about six years old Lady Clanricarde and ' other persons
of quality ' ; he probably encountered no great difficulty
or danger in his departure, for Cromwell had extended
to him the great regard he professed for Ormonde and
particularly for Lady Ormonde. 1 In France they were
to live for the next nine years, and it is almost unnecessary
to add that without this boyhood spent in France, Anthony
Hamilton would not have given us these works which make
of him one of the minor French classics, nor would his
brother have raised a regiment d' Hamilton for the French
service.
After the Restoration the Hamiltons, who so frequently
returned to France, were considered to be as much French
as English, and one often finds references to Monsieur
Hamilton, M. d'Hamilton, the Count d'Hamilton in English
letters of the time ; on one occasion the Countess of Arran,
a cousin of the Hamiltons, mentioning the arrival of two
of these kinsmen, remarks ' Ye Monsieurs have now
come/ 2
Lady Hamilton must have been glad to find some more
peaceful abode, for during the protracted absences of her
husband her position had been rather a defenceless one at
home. In December, 1649, f r instance, a regiment of horse
belonging to the Ulster army had passed through Roscrea
and had spent two days and two nights there ; Lady
Hamilton complains bitterly of the ravages they perpe-
trated. Besides ' excess of meat and drink ' the troopers
took ' whole ricks of oats, hutches full of beare and oaten
malt,' and, not content with houses and stables, filled the
barns with their horses, nor would they leave their quarters
till each had received a sum of money. Not yet satisfied,
they threatened they would undo the town, so Lady Hamil-
ton to pacify them gave them an additional 7 and at
length they departed, carrying with them ' liveries, saddles,
bridles, horselocks, pots, pans, gridirons, brandirons, plough-
irons, spades, bedding, carpets, women's gowns and petti-
coats,' in a word whatever came in the way of these
1 Carte, II, pp. 121, 138.
Hist, MSS. Comm., Ormonde MSS., N.S., IV, p. 6,
FAMILY HISTORY 7
Rabelaisian gentlemen, ' and there was no restoring of it,
unless the owners would buy it again from them/ 1
Caen was doubtless the place where Sir George settled
his family at first, 2 he himself being continually travelling
about in the King's service. The Marchioness of Ormonde
had already gone there with her family in the spring of
1648, and Ormonde was spending a few months in quiet
retirement with his wife and children. The two youngest
Hamiltons, probably John and Margaret, were born abroad, 3
possibly at Caen, and this would in a measure explain why
Voltaire (and Voltaire alone) gives Caen as Anthony Hamil-
ton's birthplace. 4 Later on the family lived in Paris.
The Hamiltons, at no time well off, shared the general
poverty and the privations of the exiles who had crowded
to France ; moreover, Sir George Hamilton, always some-
thing of a speculator and not averse to a good bargain
Ormonde's mother, Lady Thurles, calls him ' that exigent
Sir George Hamilton ' 5 in connexion with money matters
had sustained various losses before leaving Ireland. He
had purchased an interest in all the royal mines of Ireland
and had done a good deal to perfect these mines, in Munster
particularly. The Rebellion cost him 20,000, besides the
loss of most of his workmen whom he brought from England.
He had also supplied the army with lead and bullets at his
own cost, for above 3000.* Nor was this all. He had
invested what remained of his fortune in a frigate which
he sent out for ' adventures/ but which was seized by the
Governor of St. Malo for having captured as a prize a
ship which was not really one, " by which," writes Sir
George, " I am totally ruined, having no other stock of
substance left me than what was there adventured in setting
forth that frigate/' 7 Ormonde was just leaving definitely
for the Continent, and Hamilton, prevented by the
' clamours ' of the clergy from accompanying his brother-
in-law to France, put matters into his hands, but even
1 Thirty-Second Report of the Deputy- Keeper of the Public Records,
App. I, p. 85.
See especially Hist. MSS. Comm., Ormonde MSS., N.S., I, p. 201.
Cal. St. P., Dom., 1660-1661, p. 413.
(Euvres, XIV, p. 78 (Siecle de Louis XIV).
Ormonde MSS., N.S., III, p. 44-
Cal. St. P., Ireland, 1660-1662, pp. 431-432.
Hist. MSS. Comm., Ormonde MSS., N.S., I, p. 161.
8 ANTHONY HAMILTON
Ormonde's help could not shorten the lengthy lawsuit
that ensued. 1 In France attempts to fit out vessels for
an expedition to Ireland or to send arms and ammunition
to Scotland, with a view to ' advantaging ' himself in a
most certain way, involved Hamilton in more financial
losses, 2 and waiting long months in attendance on Charles
for money towards a mission that ultimately did not
take place, brought him to so low an ebb that he
was forced to apply for relief to the French court
through Jermyn. 3
The young Hamiltons, the elder children at least, did
not remain very long in Caen. Thanks to Ormonde, always
mindful of his relatives' welfare, George, the second son,
was made a page to Charles II, and James, the eldest, also
joined the wandering court, though the precise nature of
his connexion is not known. 4 Elizabeth was sent with her
cousin Helen, Lady Muskerry's daughter, to Port Royal,
where, as she herself was not ashamed to relate many years
afterwards, the daughter of the penniless refugee was
charitably received and sheltered during seven or eight
years. 6 Of Anthony's doings during this period there
remains, unfortunately, no trace whatever. That he
received a good education while he was in France is certain.
One wonders whether he was placed under the tuition of
the French minister at Caen who had charge of his Ormonde
cousins, Lord Ossory and Lord Richard Butler, and whether,
when his mother and his aunt, Lady Muskerry, had apart-
ments at the Couvent des Feuillantines in Paris, he attended
M. du Camp's Academy, where his cousins had also received
instruction. 8 He must have been a good Latin scholar
and probably at this time learned to love the curiosa felicitas
of the poet he always admired.
Meanwhile Sir George was continually travelling in the
King's interest though Lady Hamilton would fain have
1 Hist. MSS. Comm., Ormonde MSS., N.S., I, p. 201.
1 Ib., pp. 1 86, 189, 299, 304, 311.
8 Ib., pp. 195, 259 ; Clanricarde Memoirs, Appendix, p. 55.
At one time, about 1655, he seems to have been with Prince Rupert
in Heidelberg. Ormonde MSS., I, pp. 201, 301 ; Cal. Clarendon Papers,
III, pp. 34, 60.
Sainte-Beuve, Port Royal, II, p. 167, V, p. 184. Sainte-Beuve says
they came before 1655. A certain Father Callaghan, probably Callaghan
MacCarthy, a family connexion, also became an inmate about this time.
Carte, II, pp. 1 80, 502.
FAMILY HISTORY 9
prevented him. Sir George has to use all kinds of
1651- su ^ ter ^ u es to circumvent her anxious solicitude.
16 - In order to get away he has to request a few lines
containing the King's commands to wait upon him,
or he has to pretend that the journey is for the sake of the
absent sons ; her ' womanish apprehensions ' have to be
allayed before he can get away. 1 In the summer of 1651
he was sent to Clanricarde in Ireland. 2 In 1654, a ^ the
suggestion of Middleton who had invaded Scotland, he was
despatched thither to dispose his Hamilton kinsmen to
union in the King's service, but only arrived after Middleton
had been defeated. 3
Back in Paris he set out with Ormonde to
accompany the little Duke of Gloucester to Cologne, 4
and the next two years find him travelling to and from
Cologne, where the wandering court was established, now
at Antwerp, now at the Hague, now at Breda, now at
Brussels, now back in France and now at Bruges, whither
the court had migrated. 5 In 1655 he was to have gone
on a new expedition to Scotland to relieve Middleton, but
he does not seem to have been sent eventually. 6
A little later Charles, who was taking various steps to
raise an army of his own in the Low Countries and was
planning a further expedition to Scotland, despatched Sir
George Hamilton and his brother-in-law, Lord Muskerry,
to Madrid to find out whether it would be agreeable to the
King of Spain that the Irish now in Spain and those who
would come over from the French should be sent immedi-
ately into Ireland. Sir George, leaving various
1657 debts behind him at Antwerp and at Bruges, bor-
rowed more money for the journey, and finally
arrived with Lord Muskerry in May at Madrid, where
Arlington, then Sir Henry Bennet, was established as the
King's agent. Repeated expressions of friendship and
1 Hist. MSS. Comm., Ormonde MSS., N.S., I, pp. 301, 302.
2 Ib., p. 191.
8 Ib., pp. 299-304, 311 ; Cal. Clarendon Papers, II, pp. 306, 309, 310,
314, 378, 457 ; Nicholas Papers, II, p. 183 ; Firth, Scotland and the Pro-
tectorate, pp. 141-143.
4 Nicholas Papers, II, pp. 151, 166.
5 Ib., Ill, 36; Cal. Clarendon Papers, III, pp. i, 9, 11, 34; Thurloe
State Papers, IV, p. 298 ; Scott, Travels of the King, pp. 97, 114, 248.
* Nicholas Papers, II, 116, 129, 138, 140, 183, 195 n.
io ANTHONY HAMILTON
affection were not hard to obtain from the Spanish court,
but beyond this the court would not go, and after five
months of waiting they were given an evasive answer.
Meanwhile, they had lived in the greatest poverty, they
had nothing to hope for from Paris, they pressed the King
for the funds without which they would be driven ' to quit
the designe they were upon/ but Charles was living on
borrowed money and the Chancellor was owing for every
piece of bread he had eaten ; had it not been for Sir Henry
Bennet, writes Sir George, they would have starved, a
kindness which Anthony Hamilton ill repaid by remarking
that Arlington, although unsuccessful in his master's affairs,
had not misspent his time in Spain, " for he had perfectly
acquired in his exterior, the serious air and profound
gravity of the Spaniards, and imitated pretty well their
tardiness in business/' 1 Bennet was badly off himself,
he had hired ' a quarter of a house ' and set up the King's
arms though he had not ten pistols left. Into this house
Muskerry and Hamilton moved, depending upon him for
their maintenance whilst pursuing their fruitless errand.
' A great cordial in this sad time ' was the news given
to Hamilton that Charles took a personal interest in his
sons James and George.
In July of the next year the two envoys returned, stopping
for a space in Paris, where Ormonde, a short time ago, on
his way back from England, had lain concealed
1658 in Lady Hamilton's apartment at the Feuillantines.
Then they joined the court at Hoogstraeten, a
melancholy company ; the country round about was
desolated by constant warfare, Dunkirk had just been
lost to France and England by the Spanish army in which
were fighting some royalist regiments, Charles was em-
bittered by family quarrels, money was a commodity con-
spicuous by its absence, and no one knew whether ' the
Spaniard ' was going ' to answer their design ' by giving
them men or not. 2
But better times were at hand. Scarcely eighteen
months later Pepys could write, " Everybody now drinks
1 Memoirs of Count Grammont, ed. Gordon Goodwin, I, p. 138.
2 Cal. Clarendon Papers, III, passim ; Carte, II, p. 180 ; Hist. MSS.
Comm., MSS. of the Marquis of Bath, II, p. 123. T. Ross to Col.
Gervase Holies, a letter which gives a vivid account of the state of
affairs.
FAMILY HISTORY n
the King's health without any fear/' 1 " The same
people," says Anthony Hamilton, recalling the events
of his youth, " who by a solemn abjuration
1660 had excluded even the posterity of their lawful
sovereign, exhausted themselves in festivals and
rejoicings for his return." 2
1 Diary, I, p. 83.
2 Memoirs of Count Grammont, I, p. 90.
CHAPTER II
1661-1667
JAMES HAMILTON. THE CHEVALIER DE GRAMONT
IT was in the beginning of 1661 that Sir George Hamil-
ton brought his wife and younger children to England.
His elder sons had already preceded him. The King
was pleased to remember his faithful services. His
old lands were restored and n$w lands were allotted him ;
his grant of all the mines of Ulster was renewed ; he was
to enjoy for life all the penalties and forfeitures
1661 accruing to the Crown by reason of ploughing,
drawing, harrowing and working horses by the tail. 1
But in spite of these and other royal favours, the Hamiltons
were continually in financial difficulties ; in fact, Sir George
was once actually arrested for debt in 1665, but having
been set free by the Lord Chamberlain of the Household, the
debt did not trouble him much, nor did the letters which
Ormonde and the Lord Chamberlain despatched after him
to Ireland. 2 Practically nothing more is known about him
beyond the fact that he continued in the King's service,
employed on ' the King's special affairs/ 3 and that he
squandered what little fortune remained to him in experi-
ments that were to put him in possession of the philosopher's
stone. 4
The family, the six sons and three daughters, lived for
some time in a large comfortable house near Whitehall,
so Anthony relates. The Ormondes were there constantly
and all that was best in English society, for the Hamiltons
1 Cal. St. P., Ireland, 1660-1662, pp. 246, 431-432 ; Archdall Lodge,
Peerage of Ireland, V, p. 118.
1 Cal. St. P., Ireland, 1669-1670, Addenda, 1660-1670, p. 671.
8 Cal. St. P., Dom., 1664-1665, p. 455.
4 Madame, Correspondance, II, 105. Madame says she had this story
from Madame de Gramont.
12
JAMES HAMILTON 13
seem to have been an attractive family according to the
standard of the times brave, handsome, lively, very witty,
keeping an open house in spite of their poverty and withal
arrogant, scornful of the bourgeois and with the proper
contempt for the bourgeois morality. Of his own doings
Anthony never makes any mention, though the intrigues
of James and George form a considerable part of his story.
One fancies, however, that one catches a glimpse of him as
one of the authors of the Princess of Babylon's discomfiture,
familiar to readers of the Grammont Memoirs. Elizabeth
Hamilton's little counsel which helped to plan out the
affair was composed of one of her brothers and a sister,
" qui se divertissaient volontiers aux depens de ceux qui
le merit aient." One cannot but identify this mischievous
brother with the writer of the Memoires de Grammont,
though it must be confessed that he did not limit his witti-
cisms there to those alone wl^ deserved them. One imagines
that he was always very g^d friends with this sister, but
three or four years his senior, so like him in temperament,
so quick to see men's failings, and so ready to hold them
up to ridicule. 1
Whatever Sir George may have been about, the younger
generation, James and George at any rate, plunged deeply
into the pleasures of life. They intrigued with Lady Castle-
maine, they flirted with Miss Stuart, they ogled the maids of
honour, they made love to other men's wives, they ranked
amongst the best dancers at court, they dressed in silk and
lace, they went to Tunbridge and to Newmarket, they
accompanied the court to Bath, they played fast and lost
heavily, they drew swords at the slightest provocation
and they were, of course, gens d'honneur, no less than
Arran, Jermyn, Talbot and Killegrew. 2
As is only natural, the most outstanding of the Hamilton
brothers at this time is the eldest, James. It is late before
Anthony comes into his own. James Hamilton seems to
have been a typical Restoration Cavalier, a gentleman of
mirth and fashion, to use Macaulay's phrase. " He was
the man who of all the court dressed best/' says Anthony ;
1 A less well-known story of a divertissement aux dtyens des autres is
told by Sir John Reresby, Memoirs, p. 5 1 .
2 Memoirs of Grammont, passim ; Pepys, IV, p. 18 ; Hist. MSS.
Comm. Report, Twelfth Report, Appendix, Part VII, pp. 62, 85 ; the Karl
of Egmont's MSS., p. 10.
14 ANTHONY HAMILTON
" he was well made in his person and possessed these
happy talents which lead to fortune, and procure success
in love ; he was a most assiduous courtier, had the most
lively wit, the most polished manners and the most punctual
attentions to his master imaginable ; no person danced
better nor was anyone a more general lover," 1 a description
which somehow reminds one of Sir Fopling Flutter's character
of a compleat gentleman.
The accomplished James Hamilton was certainly fortu-
nate enough, no doubt by virtue of these happy talents ;
he was among the intimates of Charles, who heaped pensions,
favours and grants of land on him, 2 employed him as his
private messenger to the French court, especially to Madame,
and occasionally as an envoy extraordinary to other
courts, 3 appointed him Ranger of Hyde Park, 4 groom
of the Bedchamber, 5 Provost Marshal-General of Bar-
badoes 6 and obtained the hajad of one of the Princess
Royal's maids of honour for him, 7 not to mention a
discarded mistress, when he himself did ' doat ' on Mrs.
Stuart only.
Like most favourites James Hamilton was not without
his enemies ; citizens such as Pepys and Mr. Alsopp, the
king's brewer, classed him with Lauderdale, Buckingham
and a few others who led away the King so that none of
his ' serious ' servants and friends could come near him. 8
Arlington and Ralph Montague, when the latter became
ambassador to the French court, were displeased at the
1 Memoirs of Grammont, ed. Gordon Goodwin, I, p. 94.
1 Cal. St. P., Dom., 1664-1665, p. 53 ; Ellis Correspondence, I, p. 79 ;
Cunningham, Story of Nell Gwyn, p. 207.
Hist. MSS. Comm., MSS. of J. M. Heathcote, p. 78 ; Twelfth Report,
Appendix VII, p. 56 ; Fifteenth Report, Appendix, Part II, p. 12 ; Various
Collections, II, p. 139 ; R.O. St. P., Foreign, France, 130, ff. 15, 16 ; Cal.
St. P., Dom., 1670, pp. 391, 421, 455. Affaires Etrangeres, Memoires et
Documents Angleterre, Vol. 26, passim (these are the ninety- three
letters written by Charles to Madame, his sister. A number of them were
taken across by James Hamilton. They are printed in Mrs. Cartwright's
Madame).
4 Cal. St. P., Dom., 1660-1661, pp. 270 and 368. His name survives in
Hamilton Place, formerly Hamilton Street. Cf. Notes and Queries, Feb.,
1908, p. 94 ; Cal. St. P., Dom, 1663-1664, pp. 564, 572 ; Thornbury,
London Old and New, Vol. IV, pp. 380-381.
6 Cal. St. P., Dom., 1664-1665, p. 49.
Cal. St. P., Colonial, America and West Indies, 1661-1668, p. 493.
7 Cunningham, Story of Nell Gwyn, p. 206.
8 Diary, IV, pp. 49-50.
JAMES HAMILTON 15
influence he exerted over Charles's favourite sister Madame ; x
the Earl of Antrim and his friends disliked him as a sup-
porter of Ormonde, 2 while Cominges, the French ambassador
at the English court reproached him with meddling in
French affairs " Amilton, jeune homme sans experience,
cabale centre la France." 3
The matter which roused Cominges 's resentment deserves
a brief mention. With the Restoration the question of
precedence at the Entrees of the ambassadors had become
a very important one. Readers of Pepys will remember
the fight that took place at the entry-in-state of the Swedish
ambassador in September, 1661, between the French and
the Spanish ambassadors, and how it was decreed that the
ambassador of the Most Christian King should henceforth
precede the ambassador of his Catholic Majesty. The
entree of the English ambassador in France gave rise to a
difficulty of somewhat diffeigit type. The French insisted
that all the coaches of the ranees of the Blood should go
next to the King's and should precede that of the English
ambassador. Charles proposed as an expedient that Holies
should have an audience without a public entry, but Louis
refused. Feeling ran high in England. Precedents existed
for the ambassador's precedence to the Princes of the
Blood and Charles vowed that he would not bate an ace
of what his predecessors had enjoyed. 4
" L' affaire que nous avons present ement dans cette
court," Lionne is informed by Cominges, the French ambassa-
dor in January, 1664, " se rend tous les jours de plus
1664 difficile accomodement, le Roy n'en est plus le
maistre et le Conseil se trouve si presse par les cris
publics qu'il ne faut pas esperer qu'il change de resolution,
ni qu'il admet aucun autre temperament que celuy de ne
point faire d'entree, ... les raisons que nous pouvons
alleguer pour ne pouvoir I'admettre les rendent plus en-
venimez centre nous, croiant que nous ne voulons nous
prevaloir de la cession du Roy catholique que pour en tirer
1 Hist. MSS. Comm., MSS. of the Duke of Buccleuch at Montague
House, I, pp. 421, 424, 426.
2 MSS. of the Marquis of Ormonde, N.S., III, pp. 89-90, 119, 138-139 ;
Carte, II, p. 294.
3 Aff. Etr., Mim. et Doc. Angleterre, Vol. 29, p. 234.
4 Hist. MSS. Comm., Ormonde MSS., N.S., III, p. 134, Jan. 5th, 1663-4.
16 ANTHONY HAMILTON
des consequences centre tous les autres Roys. Vous seriez
estonn de voir le Roy de la Grande Bretagne assiege par
des gens de vingt ans qui ne luy parlent d'autre chose que
de Tinjustice que Ton veut luy faire et du joug honteux
que Ton veut imposer a la Nation/' (What follows is in
cypher.) " Entre tous ces conseillers d'estat de nouvelle
impression le S r Amilton, beau frere du chevalier de Grand-
mont, a ralie force gens de la chambre basse de mesme
aage et de mesme capacite qui ont veu le Chancellier Heyden
pour faire valoir leur zele impertinent et on les escoute
sans oser ou ne vouloir les remettre a leur devoir." 1
Cominges has nothing but contempt for these political
adventurers, the forward young men led by the Sieur
Amilton. According to him they are light-headed flatterers
who have no knowledge of affairs nor would have any
participation in them were it not for the impudence with
which they interfere, without being asked to do so. It is
amidst the pleasures of the table and the hunt that they
propound their devices, that they unfold the most hidden
mysteries of politics and that they deliberate upon peace
and war, a cabal which though not widespread is not
without being influential, for the ladies have their say
in it. 2 The audience finally took place in March without
a public entry, thanks to the intervention of Madame.
James Hamilton's marriage to Elizabeth, daughter of Sir
John Colepeper or Culpeper, which has been alluded to,
took place as early as 1660 or i66i. 3 As the lady was a
Protestant, James Hamilton left the Church of Rome
shortly before his marriage, to the great sorrow and anger
of his devout mother who had prayed much for the spiritual
welfare of her headstrong boy ' Jamie.' 4 It was Ormonde
who broke the news to her, very gently and kindly, in a long
letter, begging her not to think hardly of her son who had
taken this step in a sincere desire for salvation. 6 Lady
Hamilton did not, however, share her brother's good opinion
of James. " I must confess," she replies in a letter that
Aff. Etr., Cor. Pol. Angleterre, Vol. 82, f. 11, Jan. 28th (N.S.), 1664.
/&., f. 13, Feb. 4th (N.S.), 1664.
Cunningham, Story of Nell Gwyn, p. 206.
Hist. MSS. Comm., Ormonde MSS., N.S., I, pp. 201, 301.
Carte Papers, Vol. CCXXXII, ff. 11-12, quoted in Burghclere's Life
of Ormonde, I, pp. 525-526.
JAMES HAMILTON 17
incidentally throws an interesting light on the fairly austere
upbringing the Hamiltons seem to have had, as long as
they were with their mother, " I was never more afflicted
or surprised then when I found in your letter the unworthi-
ness of James, who I know too well to believe from him that
he had any other dislike to the religion he has left, then
that he could not profess it liveing so great a libertin as he
did ; and the assurance he had that it would be an obstacle
to his marriage with Mrs. Culpeper, for whom he had this
unhappy affection about four years ago ; and at that time
did he resolve to become an apostat, rather than not have
her. He has a dear bargaine of her, if she be so unfortunat
as to be ingaged to him, and I am confident that she would
never have much satisfaction in on(e) that has forsaked
God for her. I am most certaine that it was no apprehension
of being out of the way of salvation made him thus base.
He has no such tender conshience as you will finde in a
little time/' 1 When one remembers the account that
Anthony gives of his brother in the Memoirs, one is inclined
to think that his mother had formed a rather better estimate
of his character than his uncle had.
Not long after James Hamilton's marriage, another
marriage took place in the Hamilton family, one which
was to count for a good deal in the Hamiltons' subsequent
connexion with France. There comes upon the scene that
strange figure whom Anthony's Memoirs have invested
with a peculiar glamour, the Chevalier de Gramont, 2
adventurer and nobleman, the ' hero ' of Saint-Evremond,
the vieux sacripant of Saint-Simon. To give an account of
his life 3 would require a volume in itself, as Saint-Simon
has already remarked. Born in 1621 and possibly a descen-
dant of Henri IV, whose character he recalls after a fashion,
he was first intended for the Church, but speedily preferred
the army. He was present at the siege of Trino with that
1 Carte Papers, Vol. CCXIV, p. 192, quoted in Burghclere, I, p. 527.
* Although the name is given as Grammont in the first and most
subsequent editions of the Memoirs, and although one finds in letters and
papers of the time Grammont, Grandmont, Gramond, as well as Gramont,
the last only is the correct spelling. The name is not, as it is often stated
to be, a corruption of Grandmont, but comes from the Spanish Agramunt.
A different family, the Grammonts of the Franche Comte, spell their name
with two m's.
8 An excellent article on Gramont is given by M. de Boislisle in the I4th
Volume (Appendix IX) of his admirable edition of Saint-Simon.
i8 ANTHONY HAMILTON
very delightful Malta in 1643, l when Hamilton's Memoirs
take up his story, and as the aide-de-camp of Conde, then
Due d'Enghien, he was at Fribourg, Paris, Nordlingen and
Lens and in no wise seems to have deserved the reputation
for cowardice which some of his contemporaries emphasize.
He was Conde's premier ecuyer 2 from 1648 to 1651, and
remained with him when he went over to the enemy until
1654, when he thought it advisable to make his peace with
the court.
At court Gramont was liked by the King, whom he
amused, and disliked by Mazarin, whom he amazed by his
insolence. 3 He moved in the society of the Precieuses the
Grand Dictionnaire mentions him as the chevalier Galerius ; 4
like the rest of the courtiers he wrote gallant verses 5 to the
1 The late Mr. Vizetelly in his edition of the Memoirs gives the date as
1639. As a matter of fact Trino was taken a first time in 1639, but by the
Spaniards under the command of Prince Thomas de Carignan who, recon-
ciled with France in 1642, wrested Trino from Spain again in 1643.
1 Gramont's appointment as premier icuyer to Conde was not without
political importance, as will be seen from the following account : " Au
milieu de tant d'epines qui environnoient M. le Cardinal Mazarin,
il cut une faible consolation qui luy causa quelque calme. II appr6hendoit
autant la bonne intelligence de Monseigneur (Gaston d' Orleans) et de
M. le Prince (Conde) que la liaison de 1'un et de 1'autre avec les frondeurs
et le parlement et il les vit sur le point de se brouiller ; ils gardoient
pourtant les apparences quoique le cceur f ut blesse, car ce dernier se voulant
rendre comme egal au premier empietoit toujours quelque chose et Mon-
seigneur luy faisoit sentir qu'il s'offensoit de ses entreprises. M. le Prince
voulut avoir un premier ecuyer comme son Altesse royale et donna cette
charge a M. le chevalier de Gramont. Monseigneur logeait au chateau
neuf de St. Germain oft cet officier nouveau se presentant en carrosse pour
entrer dans la cour, les gardes le refuserent. II dit qu'il entroit dans le logis
du Roy et eux qui avaient leur ordre et que Ton avait instruits repliquerent
que la Reyne faisoit ce qui luy plaisoit au Palais Royal et au logis du Roy,
mais que pour luy entreprenant une chose nouvelle chez monseigneur, elle
luy seroit refusee. II se retira fort pique et M. le Prince le fut encore
davantage sans se plaindre. . . . Ces pointilles estoient des presages de
tempeste." (Nicholas Goulas, Memoires (Paris, 1879, 3 vols.), II, pp. 392-
393)-
3 " M. le comte de Gramont parloit au roi de quelque chose qui s'etait
passe du temps de la guerre de Paris. Le roi demanda, ' Quand cela
arriva-t-il ? ' M. de Gramont lui repondit, 'Sire, c'est du temps que
nous servions votre Majeste contre le Cardinal Mazarin.' (Menagiana, II,
P- 35-)
4 Somaize, Le Dictionnaire des Precieuses (ed. Ch. L. Livet, Paris, 1856,
2 vols.), I, p. 236.
* e.g. the following lines addressed to Madame de Fiesque, known at
that time as Madame de Pienne :
Marquise de Pienne, mon co3ur,
J 'admire si fort votre belle humeur
Que je n'ay point de plaisir plus parfait
JAMES HAMILTON 19
lady of his casual choice, and, on the whole, managed to
divide his time equally between the gaming-table and the
court beauties, with rather more success in the first case
than in the second, for, if he chose to honour or to persecute
certain ladies with his assiduities, 1 it was chiefly, if not
entirely, for the sake of the displeasure he gave his unlucky
rivals. All this was well and good, as long as his rivals
were his peers, but when Gramont, ' insolent en prosperite/
chose to cross the paths of a royal rival, the results were
rather disastrous.
Ordered away from court, Gramont betook himself to
England, where, it would seem, he had already been in the
lifetime of Cromwell. He had, moreover, already met the
chief personages of the English court in France, and had
even, on one occasion, danced with the Duke of York and
the Duke of Buckingham in the same ballet. 2 There had
also just come to London an old friend and faithful admirer
of his, Saint-Evremond, exiled for his imprudent letter on
the Peace of the Pyrenees, and destined to exert, through
Gramont, a fairly marked influence on Anthony Hamilton.
Gramont arrived in London on the I4th of January, 1663,
and the day after his arrival the Ambassador Cominges
Que votre cabinet.
J'ose vous supplier,
Ma reyne Gilette,
Que de la moquette (her furniture was covered with
' moquette ' )
Je sois chevalier.
Si vous me faites cet honneur
Je seray toujours votre serviteur
Et je lairray Madame de Maulney
Avec que son Mary.
Si vous voulez m'aimer
Belle Marquise,
Je veux employer
Tous mes benefices
Pour votre service
Jusqu'a un denier.
(Airs et Vaudevilles de Cour, Paris, 1665. See also Recueil de
Sercy, Paris, 1653, I, p. 31, and Recueil des Portraits et Eloges, Paris,
1659, II.)
1 The Princess Palatine, Madame d'Olonne, Madame de Villars, Madame
de Fiesque, Madame de Mercosur, the celebrated Marion Delorme and
doubtless many others. Memoir es de Grammont, passim ; Mme de
Motteville, Memoires (Paris, 1855), IV, p. 70; Bussy Rabutin, Histoire
Amoureuse dss Gaules, II, p. 533 ; Primi Visconti, Memoires, pp. 159-160,
etc.
2 Benserade, (Euvres (Paris, 1697, 2 vols.), II, pp. 62-65. Balet Royal
de la Nuit.
20 ANTHONY HAMILTON
is able to inform Louis that the exile is admitted to all the
pleasures of the King and is on intimate terms with
' Madame de Castelmene/ 1 The irresistible chevalier
apparently came and saw and conquered. His brother-in-
law gives us one interesting reason for his popularity. So
far, says Hamilton, the French who had appeared in London
were of the kind that despised everything not like themselves
and thought they introduced the ' bel air ' by treating the
English as strangers in their own country. " The Chevalier
de Gramont, on the contrary, was familiar with everybody :
he gave in to their customs, eat of everything and easily
habituated himself to their manner of living, which he
looked upon as neither vulgar nor barbarous/' 2
How the exile spent his days is set forth in the pages of
the Memoirs. Well aware that he was a conspicuous and
brave figure at court, the chevalier left nothing
1663 undone that might add to the legend already then
gathering round his name. The ladies he honoured
with his attentions " aux heures permises et un peu aux
dff endues," Cominges remarks 8 received perfumed gloves,
pocket looking-glasses, apricot paste and other such articles
from Paris every week, not to mention the diamonds and
guineas procured nearer home. The King was presented
with a magnificent coach. To the pleasure parties on the
Thames the chevalier contributed delightful surprises such
as " complete concerts of vocal and instrumental music
which he privately brought from Paris," or banquets which
likewise came from France and which surpassed the King's
collations. A pension from Charles was gracefully refused,
though the chevalier had nothing to live on but what he
made at cards. No wonder Gramont was ' le seul etranger
a la mode/
His mentor and philosopher, Saint-Evremond, is loud
in his praises of him, the one thing he has to criticise is
a rather dangerous admiration for Elizabeth Hamilton.
Saint-Evremond much prefers the shallow attentions paid
1 Aff. Etr., Corr. Pol. d'Angkterre, Vol. 79. f. 119. (This and
other extracts from Cominges's correspondence were printed in Lord
Braybrooke's edition of Pepys and are reprinted in Wheatley's edition
(Vol. X, 288-303). They were made from copies, not the originals, preserved
at the Bibliothdque Nationale, then Bibliothdque du Roy.)
* Memoirs, ed. Gordon Goodwin, I, p. 98.
* Aff. Etr., Corr. Pol. Angleterre, Vol. 79, pp. 214-215 (undated but
written towards the middle of Feb., 1663).
JAMES HAMILTON 21
to a Mrs. Middleton or to a Mrs. Warmestry. The descrip-
tion of Elizabeth by her brother is well known, 1 and the
Hampton Court portrait by Lely, one of Lely's best, con-
firms all he says. In Paris, when she had scarcely left
school, she had become one of the attractions of the Queen-
Mother's court at the Palais Royal and made a deep impres-
sion there on Sir John Reresby, who described her as the
finest woman in the world and thought seriously of marrying
her. 2 The Duke of York could not conceal his admiration,
the Duke of Richmond and the Duke of Norfolk were
unsuccessful suitors, the two Russells, Jermyn, Richard
Talbot and Lord Falmouth aspired in vain to her hand,
so her brother relates. 3 Gramont alone found favour in
her sight, a man with no fortune to speak of, at least twenty
years her senior and not of an attractive exterior. Only
ten years after this marriage he is described by a contem-
porary as " un vieillard au nez d'arlequin, bossu, dissipateur,
facetieux et maussade." 4 It says much for his wit and
elegance that Elizabeth Hamilton and her no less fastidious
brother were drawn to him.
Hamilton describes Gramont as being very much in love
with Elizabeth, as very reluctant to leave her when his
sister the Marquise de Saint-Chaumont somewhat over-
hastily informs him that there is nothing to hinder his return
to France ; it requires all Miss Hamilton's powers of per-
suasion to make him go and when he finds out that his
presence is not yet desired in France, he is more than glad
to hasten back to England ; the Memoirs are most careful
to emphasize this. And yet, just about this time, the
mystery begins to gather round Gramont 's relations with
Elizabeth Hamilton. On the 8th of September Charles
tells his sister Madame, that he is doing his best to
find a rich wife for the Chevalier de Gramont, who
1 Curiously enough, an abstract of this description is preserved amongst
some genealogical matter at the Bibliotheque Nationale, Departement des
IVJanuscrits, Cabinet des Titres, Vol. 345, dossier 8904, f. 30.
2 Reresby, Memoirs, pp. 43, 45-47, 50. As he, however, forsook Eliza-
beth Hamilton for ' Mistress Brown ' he is of course not mentioned in the
Memoires de Grammont any more than Gramont's forgetting to marry
the lady who eventually became his wife.
8 For the Duke of Richmond's admiration cf. Hist. MSS. Comm.,
Reports on MSS. in Various Collections, Vol. VIII, p. 65. Cf. also Aff. Etr.,
Corr. Pol. Angleterre, 79, p. 215, where Cominges describes 'Mile
d'Amilton ' dancing with the King.
4 Primi Visconti, Mdmoires, p. 52.
22 ANTHONY HAMILTON
begins his journey to France on the next day or the day
following. 1
A few days before or a few days afterwards Cominges
informs Louis that Gramont has cast his eyes on a beautiful
young demoiselle of the house of Hamilton, niece to the
Duke of Ormonde, adorned with all the grace of virtue
and nobility, but so little with mere material wealth that,
according to those who give her most, she has none. " I
think, " he continues, " that at first the chevalier did not
mean to go so far in this business, but, be it that conversa-
tion has completed what beauty began, or that the noise
made by two rather troublesome brothers may have had
something to do with it, certain it is that he has now de-
clared himself publicly. 2 If Cominges's letter precedes that
of Charles, then it is strange that Charles who had just
given his consent to the Gramont-Hamilton marriage, 3
should nevertheless consider Gramont's ' declaration ' as
not binding and should look out a rich wife for him ; if
Charles's letter is the earlier in date, then it might seem
as if the two ' troublesome brothers/ alarmed by the
chevalier's sudden departure for France, had delayed his
expedition and exacted a public engagement. If there is
any truth in the well-known, often quoted and much dis-
cussed anecdote of the chevalier overtaken on his way to
Dover, immemor amorum, by the two brothers and forced
to return with them, one might be inclined to assign
the above date to the incident. 4 The unnecessary pains
1 Aff. Etr., Mem. et Doc. Angleterre, Vol. 26, Letter 7. (This and
all the other letters of Charles quoted are printed in Mrs. Cartwright's
Madame.)
1 Ib., Corr. Pol. Angleterre, Vol. 80, f. 73. I have utilized M.
Jusserand's translation (A French Ambassador, pp. 94-95). Cominges has
unfortunately not dated this sheet of Court News. As a rule he dates his
letters very carefully O.S. and N.S. at the end of his letter, and his date.
(N.S.) is always entered by the recipient, presumably for the sake of con-
venience, at the left-hand top corner of the first sheet of the letter. This
letter is endorsed le 13 septembre, 1663 ; it would therefore seem that it
was written on the ^ Sept. M. Jusserand dates it August in his book.
8 Cf. Cominges's letter just quoted.
4 And from the correspondence of Cominges it would seem that the
anecdote is not without some foundation. According to the brothers
Fran9ois and Claude Parfaict (Histoire Generate du Thi&tre Frartfois [1734-
1749, 15 vols.], Vol. IX, pp. 254-255) the anecdote first appeared in print
in 1732 in a collection of stories entitled **+Ana ou Bigarrures Calotines,
I, p. 1 8. Saint-Simon (XIV, p. 264) says : " Le chevalier de Grammont
s'alla promener apres en Angleterre et y epousa Mile Hamilton dont il
etait amoureux avec quelque eclat et que ses freres qui en furent scandalises,
forcerent d'en faire sa femme, malgr6 qu'il en cut." A very garbled version
JAMES HAMILTON 23
Hamilton took to prove that if the chevalier went to France,
it was only after consulting his mistress, would confirm this
hypothesis. But there are difficulties in this theory, for
according to the anecdote the chevalier returned and at once
married the lady whom he had so lightly abandoned,
whereas the marriage only took place in the end of Decem-
ber and amidst circumstances which would completely
of the anecdote is given by the Abbe de Voisenon (CEuvres, IV) and one
hardly recognizable in a manuscript preserved at the Bibliotheque Sainte
Genevieve (MS. 3208, L'aventure du Chevalier de Grammont). In the
apocryphal ' Letters supposed to have passed between M. de St. Evremond
and Mr. Waller,' Saint-Evremond is made to tell the story. " Though
Grammont," he says, " believed himself that he intended absolutely to
espouse the fair Hamilton, yet when everything seemed to be settled and
the critical event drew near, the Daemon of Gallantry took up his part.
He played the character of Hymen and rendered it so insupportably
ridiculous that Grammont could no longer bear the idea of marriage. The
time appointed for the nuptials was at hand. The Lover flew upon the
wings of the wind to the coast of France. This Desertion was received
with proper indignation. A brother of the fair Hamiltons, a youth about
sixteen or seventeen, pursued and overtook him almost as soon as he had
arrived. ' Grammont,' said he, ' you blush to see me. You have reason.
You know me well. Return this moment with me to England and do your-
self the honour to espouse my sister. If that is an Honour you chuse to
decline I am the youngest of seven brothers, and if I fall by your hand,
know that there are still six living whose Arms are stronger and more
experienced than mine and who scorn as much as I do to survive the
Honour of a sister.' The Count stood silent for a while and smiled upon
the beardless champion. But it was not a smile of contempt. I have
heard him say that he never felt the Sense of Honour more strongly as at
that moment. The Phantom of false Gallantry disappeared. ' Let us
return,' said he, ' my brave Friend. I deserve not the Honour of being
allied to your family but I will hope to be indebted for it to your kind
intercession.' " (Vol. I, pp. 26-28.)
The exaggerations are obvious. The brothers were only six in number,
and at the time of the marriage, John, the youngest, could not possibly
have been sixteen or seventeen ; this was the exact age of Anthony.
The incident is supposed to have furnished Moliere with the plot of his
Manage Ford, first performed in 1664. There is, however, no direct
proof of this, and as M. Paul Mesnard says in his Introduction, " II faut
e"tre bien determine a chercher partout un sujet de rapprochement pour en
trouver un ici entre le bourgeois Sganarelle, grossier et maladroit et le
brillant et spirituel chevalier." (Moliere, Ed. des Grands Ecrivains, Vol. IV,
p. 8.)
In connexion with this anecdote there is an extraordinary statement
made in the Dictionary of National Biography. The author of the article
on Elizabeth Hamilton relates the inevitable anecdote and explains :
" The story is told in a letter from Lord Melfort to Richard Hamilton,
dated 1689 or 1690," a statement which has been copied by the Cambridge
History of English Literature, M. Boislisle's edition of Saint-Simon (Edition
des Grands Ecrivains} and many other works. In 1689 and 1690 Richard
Hamilton was Lieutenant-General of King James's Irish Army and Melfort
Secretary of State. They were not on particularly good terms, and besides
Melfort had more serious things to discuss in the letters he sent to London-
derry than to relate to Richard Hamilton, twenty-five years after it
happened, an event which, if known to anyone, must have been known to
24 ANTHONY HAMILTON
justify one in placing the anecdote there. 1 The wedding
present from Charles was a jewel brought from the Earl
of St. Albans for 1260. 2
During the next few months Gramont, though paying
several visits to France, continued to live in England
1664 very much taken up with his young wife and not
a little jealous of a handsome cousin, Lord Arran,
no doubt. 3 On the 7th of September (N.S.), their
Richard Hamilton. What gave rise to the above statement is the fact
that when Melfort's letters were printed in the Appendix to the 8th Report
of the Hist. MSS. Comm., the editor remarked that these letters were not
only important from an historical point of view, but interesting as being
addressed to the brother of the author of the Memoires de Grammont, the
anecdote then follows (p. 493a) and the hasty reader failed to see that it
was only a part of the editor's introduction.
1 On the 2oth of December (N.S.) Cominges, describing the delight with
which Gramont received the good news of his recall, mentions that he is
making his plans to leave in four days and that perhaps he will introduce
a fair English lady to the French court. (Aff. Etr., Corr. Pol. Angleterre,
80, f. 132 ; Pepys, X, p. 298.) On the day fixed for the departure,
Dec. 24th (N.S.), Cominges relates that the chevalier's journey has been
delayed for a day and that he leaves numerous debtors behind him, but
will attend them when he returns to explain about the matter of Miss
Hamilton ' qui est si embrouill6 que les plus clairvoyans n'y voient goute.'
(Aff. Etr., Corr. Pol. Angleterre, Vol. 80, f. 135.) A week later, on the
3ist of December (N.S.), Cominges informs the King that the marriage of
the chevalier and the conversion of Lady Castlemaine were made public
on the same day, and Pepys (III, p. 388) hears for certain on Dec. 22nd
(or Jan. ist, N.S.) that my Lady Castlemaine is turned Papist. The
marriage had been brought about with wonderful despatch between
Dec. 24th and Dec. 3ist, probably on Dec. 3oth. (Aff. Etr., Corr. Pol.
Angleterre, Vol. 80, f. 147.) " Le mariage du chevalier de Gramont
et la conversion de Madame de Castlemaine se sont publics en mesme jour,
et le Roy d'Angleterre etant pri6 par les parents de la Dame d'apporter
quelque obstacle a cette action, il repondit galamment que pour l'ime des
Dames il ne s'en melait point." Some commentators have imagined that
this last statement referred to Miss Hamilton and that the relatives of the
bride-elect were opposed to the marriage. Cominges is, however, clearly
speaking about Lady Castlemaine's relatives. Elizabeth Hamilton's
brothers were determined that she should marry Gramont. Lescure, in
the Introduction to his edition of the Memoirs (1876), makes the quotation
serve his purpose by changing it to " Le Roi etant prie par les parents de
la dame d'apporter quelques obstacles a cette union r6pondit galamment
que pour V amour des dames il ne s'en me'lait point."
A note preserved at the Bibliothdque Nationale, D6p. des Manuscrits,
Cabinet des litres, Vol. 345, dossier bleu Hamilton 8904, f. 8, says
that E. Hamilton married the chevalier de Gramont ' par contrat du 9
decembre, stile d'Angleterre,' but the more reliable letters of the French
Ambassador put this out of the question.
* Cal. St. P., Dom, 1663-1664, p. 438.
8 Aff. Etr., Angleterre, Mem. et Doc., Vol. 26, letters 30, 31, 40;
Corr. Pol. Angleterre, Vol. 82, p. 34 (Cominges to Lionne Jf Jan.,
1664 a despatch printed by M. Jusserand on p. 224 of his book ' M. le
Chevalier de Gramont est arrive depuis deux mois,' is wrongly given instead
of ' depuis deux jours '). Pepys, X, p. 299.
JAMES HAMILTON 25
first child, a boy, was born, 1 ' handsome like the mother
and gallant like the father/ Two months later the Gramonts
left England for France, 2 and Charles recommended them
warmly to Madame. The peculiar talent of the Count
for thus the chevalier was now styled would always make
him welcome in England, and the Countess he' considered
as good a creature as ever lived. 3
The Gramonts were well received in France ; the Count
was probably welcomed back with rather mixed feelings
by some at court, too much in fear of his merciless wit to
show their dislike openly, but the belle Anglaise who had
been able to fix the attentions of the fickle chevalier was
an object of interest. Madame soon admitted her to her
intimacy and told Charles that she was really one of the
best women she had ever known in her life. 4 Possibly the
relationship between the Gramonts and the Comte de
Guiche had something to do with this. The Comte de
Guiche, a son of the Marechal de Gramont, the half-brother
of our Gramont, had ventured to raise his eyes to Madame
Henriette and employed his youthful English aunt as an
intermediary when Madame refused to have anything to
do with him. Finally, Madame consented to meet De
1 Pepys, X, p. 300 (Cominges' correspondence). The boy died in Sep-
tember, 1671. (R.O. Si. P., Foreign, France, Vol. 132, f. 14.) Two
daughters were also born to the Gramonts, Claude Charlotte and Marie
Elizabeth, the latter in December, 1671. (Bibliotheque Nationale, Manu-
scrits, Pidces originates, Vol. 162, dossier 3645.)
* Gramont took across with him 16 horses (Cal. St. P., Dom., 1664-
1665, p. 37). Forneron in his Louise de Keroualle (p. 17) and Vizetelly in
his edition of the Memoirs (Vol. II, p. 166 n.) remark that Gramont was no
judge in the matter of horses, that, according to Algernon Sidney, ' he is
such a proud ass that he neither knows what is good nor will believe anyone
else.' This statement of Sidney's (Letters of the Hon. Algernon Sydney to
the Hon. Henry Savile in the year 1679, London, 1742, pp. 57-58) does
not, however, refer to Gramont but to ' the Duke de Gramont's Esq. ' whom
his master had sent to England to purchase some horses.
3 Letters 42 and 43,. Aff. Etr., Mem. et Doc. Angleterre, Vol. 26, Letter
43 (Oct. 24th, O.S. [1664]), is the well-known letter from Charles, first
printed in the Appendix to Dalrymple's Memoirs (II, pp. 26, 27). The
year is there wrongly given as 1669 and has misled countless annotators
of the Memoires de Grammont, from Sir Walter Scott downwards. 1669
has been taken to be the terminus ad quern of the Count's stay in England,
his marriage has been placed in 1668, and Cunningham (in the Appendix
to his Story of Nell Gwyn) bases his whole proof of the correctness of the
chronology of the Memoirs on the fact that the Count came to England
in 1663 and left in 1669. The year in which this letter was written, 1664,
is easily fixed by the date of the preceding letter (Oct. 23rd, 1664) to which
Charles alludes.
4 Cartwright, Madame, p. 218.
26 ANTHONY HAMILTON
Guiche at the Gramonts' house, but the rather pitiful little
love story was soon brought to a close. The Comte de
Guiche was persuaded by his father to leave the court,
and though he lived some years longer, he never saw Madame
again. 1 At the special request of Charles the Gramonts
had their apartments for a short time in 1667 at Monsieur's
court, though Monsieur, suspicious by nature and possibly
aware of the role that the Gramonts had played between
Madame and De Guiche, disliked Gramont and consented
merely in order to be agreeable to his brother-in-law. 2 Some
months before, in February, 1667, 8 the Countess had been
made dame du palais to the Queen Marie The*rese ; it is not
altogether easy to see how she could be attached to one
court and hold a kind of office at another.
The English who came to Paris naturally sought out the
Gramonts. Lady Anne Palmer, Lady Castlemaine's eldest
daughter, was guided about in Paris by Madame de Gramont,
and they were ' all day long at shops buying everything
that is fine/ the youthful Lady Anne being so pleased with
this aspect of the capital that she had scarcely time to see
a play. 4 Again when Lady Sunderland, ' my Lady Am-
bassadrice/ made her visit to court, the Master of the
Ceremonies conducted her first to the lodgings of Madame
de Gramont, where, by order of the Queen, dinner was
provided for her previous to her entry. 6 It was Gramont
who presented the future Duke of Marlborough to Louis.
Lord Sunderland had really undertaken to do it, but Colonel
Churchill and two brother officers, also serving in the
French army, had missed the opportunity by delaying over
their dinner and not appearing at the appointed hour,
though Sunderland had warned them that Louis was a
king of ' not over easy accessed The three officers were
disappointed and very unreasonably displeased with Lord
Sunderland, and though the latter offered to present them
some other time, they returned to St. Germain the very
next day and got Gramont to perform that office, somewhat
to the disgust of Sunderland. 6
1 Cartwright, Madame, passim ; Mme de La Fayette, Henriette d'A ngle-
terre, pp. 95-97-
8 R.O. St. P., Foreign, France, Vol. 123, f. 244, Monsieur to Charles,
October, 1667.
8 Bussy, Lettres, I, p. 17.
* R.O. St. P., Foreign, France, Vol. 135, f. 60. October, 1672.
6 Ib., Vol. 136, f. 124. March, 1673. Ib. t f. IQI, March, 1673.
JAMES HAMILTON 27
The Comte de Gramont had returned from his exile with
very warm feelings, it would seem, for the country in
which he had sojourned, and he always identified himself
with the English interest. When war broke out between
England and Holland in 1665, he was ' the most English
of men/ so Henrietta tells her brother, and she wonders
that he does not get into trouble a thousand times a day
for so warmly espousing the English cause ; it was he who
brought her the news of the victory off Lowestoft that
June, and the news made him almost ' mad with joy/ 1
When France, as an ally of the Dutch, declared war against
England in 1666, Gramont still championed the English
interest to such an extent that he ran the risk, so he tells
Arlington, of being made to return to the country he
esteemed so much. 2 And so on. A very slight part of the
close connexion between English and French aristocracy
in the seventeenth century is due to the Hamilton-Gramont
marriage ; an extremely slight part, it is true, but still it is
one.
1 Cartwright, Madame, p. 217.
* Hist. MSS. Comm., Buccleuch MSS. at Montagu House, Vol. I, p. 491.
CHAPTER III
1667-1670
THE GENDARMES ANGLAIS. GRAMONT AND
BUCKINGHAM
WHILE Gramont frequently came to the English
court in various capacities, one of the Hamil-
tons was becoming known at the French
court through his connexion with the French
army. This was the second son, George Hamilton, without
doubt the ablest and the best-beloved of the six brothers,
' that valiant and worthy gentleman/ as Evelyn calls
him. 1 Kind-hearted, modest and unassuming in spite of
his achievements, he had none of James's frivolity, Anthony's
cynical contempt for humanity or Richard's blustering
swagger. He had been page to Charles, it will be remem-
bered, when the court was still in exile, after the Restora-
tion he gave up this office, and some time afterwards
entered the King's Life Guards. Readers of the Memoirs
will recall his intrigues with pretty Mrs. Wetenhall and his
admiration for Miss Stuart ; they will also remember
that he finally married one of the Duchess of York's maids
of honour, la belle Jennings, the most handsome young
lady in England, according to the Ambassador Courtin,
and sister of Sarah, the future Duchess of Marlborough.
The marriage took place in 1665, 2 and was a very happy
one.
This marriage too, like James Hamilton's, involved a
change of religion, but this time it was the bride who
changed, becoming a Roman Catholic. 3 From the point
of view of worldly prosperity it would have been better
1 Diary, II, p. 387.
* Wolseley, Life of Marlborough, I, p. 161. Charles gave Hamilton a
pension of 500 at the time. Cunningham, Story of Nell Gwyn, p. 208.
8 Evelyn, Diary, loc. tit.
28
THE GENDARMES ANGLAIS 29
if George Hamilton had followed his brother's example ;
for, in spite of, or rather because of, the King's leanings
to the Church of Rome, it was a hard time for Catholics.
If Nonconformists were odious to the people, Papists were
incomparably more so. The King's cautious attempts to
favour Popery under the cover of toleration for Protestant
Dissent had nevertheless excited suspicion and put Parlia-
ment on its guard. When Charles claimed the power of
dispensing with the provisions and penalties of the Act of
Uniformity, the Houses replied not only by the Conventicle
Act, but also by requiring Charles to issue a proclamation
banishing all Jesuits and Catholic priests. This was in
1663. With the great fire, feelings became still more bitter,
for the blame was fastened upon the Catholics. Again, if
the Dutch advanced into the mouth of the Thames in 1667,
the Catholics were equally to blame, Sir Edward Spragge,
the Vice-Admiral in command of the squadron there, being
an ' Irish Papist ' and places of importance having been
put ' out of faithful men's hands into Papists'.' 1 The procla-
mation against Priests and Jesuits was renewed. All laws
against Papists were strictly enforced, and the Commons
obtained the disarming of all who refused the Oaths of
Allegiance and Supremacy. 2
It therefore became necessary to cashier all Roman
Catholics serving in the Royal Guards, and, on the 28th of
September, 1667, on the ground that they refused
1667 to take the Oath of Supremacy, they were dismissed.
There was nothing open to these men in England,
so the most of them chose to leave the country. Charles
had declared that they should have leave to go abroad
whither they pleased, and little groups of ten or twelve
banded together to seek their fortune beyond the seas, in
France or Flanders, there meaning to ' earn their bread
by their swords ' until His Majesty had occasion for their
further service. 3
Amongst those who had been turned out of the army
was George Hamilton. He was approached secretly and
given to understand that he and his men would be welcome
in the French service, 4 for Louis, who had invaded the
1 Cal. St. P., Dom., 1667, pp. 206-207.
* /&., pp. 220, 231, 251, etc.
8 Ib., 1667-1668, pp. 28, 54, 82, no ; Arlington Letters, I, p. 185.
4 Arlington Letters, loc. cit.
30 ANTHONY HAMILTON
Spanish Low Countries which he claimed to be the inherit-
ance of his wife, needed men. He had just granted a three
months' truce, but was not the man to rest upon that. Two
other regiments were going to France at this time, 1 one
under the command of Colonel Henry Staniers, the other
the so-called Scottish Regiment which had been brought
to France in 1633 by Sir John Hepburn and had finally
passed into the hands of Lord George Douglas. 2 When
France declared war against England in 1666 Charles sent
for this regiment, but ' the People murmuring at them and
complaining of the Government for imploying Papists '
Lord George Douglas was given permission to return to
France. 8
Hamilton was naturally very glad to accept the offer
made to him, though it gave rise to some jealousy at the
English court and to not a little bitterness at the Spanish.
Ruvigny, the French Ambassador, informed Louis that the
' affaire Amilton ' was making much noise and was taken
to be a kind of declaration. 4 As a matter of fact, an under-
standing with France was the last thing Parliament wanted,
the triumphal progress of Louis had been watched with
jealousy ; moreover, both the Dutch and the Spanish were
contemplating alliances with Charles and could hardly view
this step with equanimity. The Spanish Ambassador, the
Conde de Molina, and the Baron de Tlsola, Austrian
Ambassador, hastened to Charles, complained of Hamilton's
plans, and drew his attention to the fact that Louis was
giving money and lending ships for that purpose. They
gave him notice of all these proceedings, they said, so that
he, Charles, might put a stop to them if all this were being
done without his permission, or, if he had authorized it,
then Spain ought to have the same advantages as her
enemy and should be given at least half of Hamilton's
company.
Charles replied that as for Hamilton and his men, all that
he knew was that he had given them leave to seek their
fortune where they could find it, that having turned them
1 R.O. St. P., Foreign, France, Vol. 123, f. 199, Saint Albans to
Arlington, Sept. I7th, 1677.
a Francisque Michel, Les Ecossais en France, II, pp. 305-18.
8 Savile Correspondence, p. 22 ; Arlington Letters, loc. cit.
4 Aff. Etr., Corr. Pol. Angleterre, 89, p. 265, Ruvigny to Louis XIV,
Sept. . 1667.
THE GENDARMES ANGLAIS 31
out of his Guard, he was unwilling to proceed with any
further severity towards them by constraining them to
serve against their liking, that if he, the Spanish Ambassa-
dor, could prevail with them to go to Flanders, they should
have passports accordingly given them.
The Ambassador and his ally next proceeded with
their complaints to the Duke of York and spoke to him
with great vehemence, for Charles had not allayed their
suspicions. As a matter of fact Charles was quite aware
of the offer made to George Hamilton and had even charged
Ruvigny to thank Louis for his kindness and especially for
the name, les Gendarmes Anglais, which Louis was going
to give the new regiment. 1
The Dutch, too, wished to secure the men leaving the
English service and sent most favourable offers, promising
to treat the men well ; only, they were not all to be sent
over at the same time but in little groups so that all ' eclat '
might be avoided. This news caused Ruvigny to hurry in
his turn to Charles to ask him whether he knew anything
of the manoeuvres of the Dutch. Charles replied in the
affirmative, but said that the men did not wish to take
service with them. 2
Meanwhile Louvois was counselling haste, since the
Spanish Ambassador was leaving nothing undone to secure
the debris of the English troops, 3 and Ruvigny was urging
these would-be French regiments to prepare with all possible
speed to leave the country for fear that Parliament, which
was to meet about the middle of October, should prevent
their exodus, especially as L'Isola was doing everything
in his power to bring this about. 4 Ruvigny 's suspicions were
not without foundation, for, a few days later, some Members
of Parliament came to see Arlington, complained of the
permission given to the Scottish regiment and to the Re-
formed Guards and intimated their intention of speaking
1 Ib. t pp. 343-345, Ruvigny to Louis, Oct. f y , 1667 ; Arlington
Letters, loc. cit.
2 /&., pp. 285-286, Ruvigny to Louis, -f * P .~ , 1667.
3 vjct.
3 R.O. St. P., Foreign, France, 123, f. 188, Louvois to St. Albans,
Sept. 13, 1667.
4 Aff. Etr., Corr. Pol. Angleterre, 89, p. 292, Ruvigny to Louis,
32 ANTHONY HAMILTON
to Charles about the matter before Parliament assembled
to beg him to send these troops rather to Flanders. 1
When Parliament met it directed that no more men or
horses were to leave the kingdom. 2 This, of course, was a
serious thing for George Hamilton ; he tells Louvois that
he has the greatest difficulty imaginable in completing his
company, and that the order of Parliament has virtually
put a stop to his endeavours. 3 Ruvigny advised him to
postpone his preparations for a while, but Louvois re-
marked that he could, it seemed to him, send men across
daily in very small groups and buy them horses in France,
adding quite kindly that he thought George Hamilton
would find French horses just as suitable as English ones. 4
On the ist of February, 1668, at last, and aided by a
new gift of five hundred pistols from Louis, George Hamilton
managed to sail from Dover to Ostend, with one hundred
men and horses ; eighty-three more horses were got across
in spring. 5 He can therefore hardly, as is sometimes said,
have led his company to the war in the Franche-Comte^
which Louis, still at war with Spain, had overrun. In his
pass, dated January 14, he is for the first time styled Sir
George Hamilton, and would thus seem to have been
knighted by Charles before his departure, though there is
no record of the matter. 6
It is more than likely that Anthony accompanied him to
France at this time, since we know that the two brothers
served there together. Anthony was now between twenty-
two and twenty-three years old ; Catholics, as we have
1 Aff. Etr., Corr. Pol. Angleterre, 89, p. 358, Ruvigny to Louis,
W Oct., 1667.
* Guerre, 245, No. 241. George Hamilton to Louvois, fJNov., 1667.
* Ib.
4 Ib. , Vol. 207, No. 316, Louvois to Hamilton, Dec. 14, 1667.
6 Cal. St. P., Dom., 1667-1668, p. 207 ; Guerre, 202, f. 178, Louvois
to Hamilton and Louvois to Ruvigny, Jan. 13, 1668.
6 Cal. St. P., Dom., 1667-1668, p. 167. His father did not die till 1679,
nor was he the eldest son, so that his title was in no wise inherited. As
for Anthony, who is so often styled ' Count ' Hamilton, there is no evidence
whatever to show that he bore this title during his lifetime. Like all his
brothers he is called ' M. d' Hamilton ' ; he could not well be called ' M.
Hamilton ' as he was ' noble.' Sourches, it is true, styles all the Hamiltons
indifferently as ' les comtes d'Hamilton,' and the Hamilton, be it Anthony
or Richard, who danced in a ballet, is called ' le comte d'Hamilton ' by
the Dictionnaire des Thedtres, but it is far more significant that Berwick
should in 1713 speak of Anthony as plain ' M. Anthony Hamilton.' (Hist.
MSS. Comm., Stuart Papers, I, p. 267.) It is the early publishers of
Hamilton's works who are mainly responsible for the title of count.
THE GENDARMES ANGLAIS 33
seen, had no prospects in the Army possibly Anthony
was amongst those who were dismissed ; money he had
none to lead a leisurely existence at court ; three of his
brothers had some kind of occupation James, the Protes-
tant, held an appointment in the King's Household ; George
had accepted service in the French army ; and Thomas,
Anthony's junior, had entered the Navy in 1666 or earlier. 1
So Tony Hamilton, as his friends called him, probably
buckled on his sword, bid farewell to Whitehall and its
Etheredges, Sedleys and Killegrews, and returned, a gentle-
man adventurer, to the country in which he had spent his
youth ; not perhaps with much enthusiasm for soldiering,
a profession in which he never shone, but certainly with
no reluctance to mingle once more with the courtiers of
Paris and Saint-Germain. He took with him the memories
of the court which he was later to describe, of the ' inex-
pressible luxury and prophaneness, gaming and all dissolute-
ness and as it were total forgetfulness of God,' 2 to use the
words of a less indulgent judge than Hamilton ; the scandals
he had witnessed and watched with the impressionable
interest of youth were to live again, though not the disasters
that had befallen his country without moving the dissolute
aristocracy the Fire, the Plague and the humiliating war
with the Dutch.
The soldier portrait of Anthony Hamilton preserved at
the National Portrait Gallery, must have been painted not
long after this ; it is less attractive than the better
1668 known one of Anthony in his old age. The calm, the
dignity, the penetrating gaze, the sphinx-like smile
are hardly yet discernible ; handsome, dashing, extremely
complacent and with a touch of that scornfulness which
is properly his, it is probably a true likeness of what he was
before the years of misfortune.
English, Scottish and Irish regiments were by no means
an unknown thing in France. Saint-Louis had had a small
bodyguard of Scottish archers, an institution which was
kept up by the other kings, and these Gardes du Corps
Ecossais took precedence of all the other companies com-
posing the Maison du Roi, though by the time of Louis XIV,
they were Scotch in nothing but the name. Charles VII, had
1 Charnock, Biographia Navalis, I, p. 310.
2 Evelyn, Diary, III, pp. 144, 145. Evelyn is, of course, alluding to a
somewhat later period, but his words are none the less applicable.
D
34 ANTHONY HAMILTON
created the Gendarmes Ecossais, who ranked immediately
after the household cavalry. The nominal captain was
always a Scottish noble of very high birth until in 1667
Louis honoured the Gendarmes Ecossais by becoming
himself their captain. 1 Various other regiments had
served for shorter periods and had mostly been disbanded
by this time. 2
When George Hamilton arrived in France, where his men
were considered fine and well built, Louis incorporated
those who were Scotch in the Gendarmerie Ecossaise and
formed the others into the Compagnie des Gendarmes
Anglais. Their uniform 8 was similar to that of the Gen-
darmes Ecossais, who, as the older company, were to take
precedence. Louis himself was Captain and George Hamil-
ton was ' Captaine-Lieutenant.' 4 Their standard showed
the sun towards which eight eaglets were soaring, with the
motto, ' Tuus ad te nos vocat ardor/ a kind of flattery not
distasteful to the Roi Soleil. 6
Very soon after his arrival in France George Hamilton,
in the hope that Charles would never require " gans qui
valient si peue que moy," as he says, applied for and obtained
permission to become a French citizen. 6 One would like
1 Fieffe, Troupes etrangeres au service de la France, I, pp. 33-35, 169-
175-176, etc.
1 Susane, Histoire de I'ln/anterie Francaise, I, pp. 191 seq. ; V, pp. 285-
288, 294.
3 " L'uniforme de ces deux compagnies etait : habit, doublure et pare-
ments de drap rouge, bord6 d'argent sur le tout, les manches de 1'habit
galonnees d'argent, veste cramoisie, culotte de la couleur de 1'habit, bottes
4 revers, chapeau bord6 d'argent, boutons argent6s, cocarde noire. La
premiere (the Gendarmes Ecossais) avait une bandouillere de soie jaune,
le ceinturon et les ornements chamois, tandis que le violet avait et6 affecte
a la seconde. Les armes 6taient le mousqueton, 1'epee et les pistolets.
Equipage du cheval : Rouge, bord6 d'argent avec le chiffre de la compagnie
brod6 du meme metal." (Fieffe, I, p. 173.)
4 Daniel, Histoire de la Milice Francoise, II, pp. 247, 248. In connec-
tion with the formation of this regiment General Susane (Historic de la
Cavalerie Francaise, I, p. 251) has the following interesting remark : " En
agissant ainsi, le roi avait, croyons-nous, la pensee de rappeler la suzer-
ainet6 de la France sur 1'Angleterre, et ce serait dans la meme intention
qu'il aurait impost aux deux compagnies suivantes les titres de Gendarmes
bourguignons et Gendarmes flamands, qui rappelaient le retour a la
couronne d'anciens apanages qui en avaient et6 detaches."
* Daniel, II, p. 257. A reproduction of this and the Scottish standard
is to be found in the Appendix of Mouillart's Regiments sous Louis,
XV (1882). The uniforms there shown are those worn by the gendarmes
in the middle of the eighteenth century.
R.O. St. P., Foreign, France, 124, f. 48, March 22nd, 1668 ; Cal. St. P.
Dom., 1667-1668, p. 277.
THE GENDARMES ANGLAIS 35
to be able to quote this letter to Arlington in full, for the
light it throws on his affectionate loyal nature. The services
of the English Gendarmes seem to have given Louis satis-
faction. 1 About a year after they came to France they
were reviewed, along with the King's other Guards, at the
Bois de Boulogne in the presence of the King, the Queen
and the whole court. The King commended them highly
and gave Hamilton a pension of two thousand crowns a year
beside his pay. 2 On another occasion hearing that Hamilton
was in great financial difficulties as the Hamiltons usually
were and about to set out to England to try to obtain the
pension given to him by Charles after his marriage, he sent
him six hundred pistols and told him it was to help in his
journey, and that he hoped the King of England would do
his part and that between them they might help him to
subsist. 8
The society of their sister, Madame de Gramont, now
dame du palais, must have done much to make the Hamil-
tons' stay in France pleasant. They were very much
attached to her, and, moreover, through her position and
the marked favour of Louis which both she and her husband
enjoyed, she could exert her influence in behalf of her
brothers, particularly the younger ones who stood more in
need of it than George. Just about this time there occurs
an amusing episode in her husband's extraordinarily varied
career, which, as it is relatively unknown, may be set
forth here briefly.
Confronted by the Triple Alliance, England, Holland
and Sweden, Louis made peace with Spain at Aix-la-
Chapelle in May, 1668, and Europe enjoyed quiet for a
brief space. The Triple Alliance had not, however, the
loyal support of Charles, who disliked the Dutch, and a
secret alliance with France and Catholicism was sought
1 The only complaints brought against them were by Conde, who
objected to their hunting in the grounds of Chantilly, and by one M. de la
Garde, who accused them of a similar offence. Guerre, 231, f. 129, Louvois
to Hamilton, Feb. i2th, 1669 ; 235, f. 32, the same to the same, Oct. 4th,
1669.
2 R.O. St. P., Foreign, France, 126, f. 23, Feb. I3th, 1669. Cf. Perwich
Papers (Royal Hist. Soc. Publ.), pp. 20-21.
8 Hist. MSS. Comm., Buccleuch MSS. at Montagu House, I, p. 459
Jan. I9th, 1670. Of the possible loss of this pension Hamilton remarks
earnestly on one occasion, " Ce me serait un coup et plus a crindre qu'auqun
que me puice doner les imperiaux." ( R.O. St. P., Foreign, France, 138,
f. 32, August 25th, 1673.)
36 ANTHONY HAMILTON
after. This alliance, securing to Louis the co-operation
of Charles in a future war with the Dutch, was brought
about, it will be remembered, by Madame through
1670 the Treaty of Dover in June, 1670, a treaty signed
only by the Catholic members of the Cabal Ministry
and Arundel, since it contained an article referring to the
King's conversion and the subsidy offered in return by the
French.
Amongst those who came with the Duchess of Orleans
to Dover were the Count and the Countess de Gramont ;
they with their train of three women, one squire, two
valets, two pages and four footmen, formed part of the
suite d'honneur. George Hamilton and his wife were also
to have accompanied her, but they are not mentioned in
the final list preserved amongst the French papers at the
Record Office. 1
Shortly after Madame's return to France her tragic and
mysterious death took place. Its suddenness gave rise
to the belief that she had been murdered, and at the post-
mortem examination, James Hamilton, who had so often
brought her letters from her brother, was present. 2 As
for Gramont, he had not accompanied Madame on her
return journey, but had remained in England. He was
to have come away, somewhat reluctantly, in the end of
June with his brother-in-law, James Hamilton, on his way
to Florence to carry ' compliments of condolence ' from
Charles to the Grand Duke of Tuscany, 8 and had received
a parting gift of 1000 from Charles. The present was
originally to have taken the shape of a jewel, but the
Count must have hinted that ready money was more
acceptable. 4 When, however, the news of Madame's death
came, Gramont changed his plans. Henry Savile relates
1 R.O. St. P., Foreign, France, 129, ff. 189, 240; Daniel de Cosnac,
Memoir es, I, p. 417.
* Mrs. Everett Green, Lives of the English Princesses, VI, Appendix
No. 2, p. 586.
* For James Hamilton and the Grand Duke of Tuscany see Magalotti,
Travels of Cosmo the Third, Grand Duke of Tuscany (London, 1821), p. 195 ;
Steinman, Althorp Memoirs (privately printed at Oxford, 1868-1869)*
Addenda, pp. 4, 5 ; Hist. MSS. Comm., isth Report, Appendix, Part II,
. 12 ; Various Collections, II, p. 139 ; R.O. St. P., Foreign, France, 130,
. 15, 16 ; St. P., Dom., 1670, pp. 391, 421, 455. In Cartwright's Madame
(p. 382) it is stated that James Hamilton was present at Madame's funeral
service, but he was in Italy by this time.
4 Cal. St. P., Dom., 1670, p. 296.
THE GENDARMES ANGLAIS 37
that Gramont had ' made a shift to find arguments ' for
staying on in England, ' and at last will not go/ 1 So he
was left in London and watched the development of affairs
with some curiosity : the French Embassy surrounded by
a howling mob, the rioters bent on visiting what they con-
sidered to be Henrietta's murder on the first Frenchman
unlucky enough to fall into their hands, the coming and
going from court to court, Monsieur's envoy coldly received,
Arlington demanding a declaration of war, the Marechal de
Bellefonds despatched by Louis, and Buckingham beside
himself with anger, for Buckingham continued to show his
resentment longer than the other Ministers, because by
that means, so the Ambassador Colbert de Croissy suggests, 2
he hoped to gain popularity.
When finally Buckingham became pacified Gramont took
to himself the credit of having brought about this change
of feelings. " Vous scaurez done, Monsieur," he informs
Lionne, " que la mort de Madame ayant mis M. de Bouquin-
kam dans un emportement extraordinaire il fut plus de
quatre jours sans voir M r I'Ambassadeur et jugeant que cela
feroit du bruit et n'avanceroit pas leurs affaires je le ramenay
le mieux que je pus et fis tant par mes agremens et mon
eloquence que je le conduisis moy-mesme chez M r 1'Ambassa-
deur." 3
From having been the most violent enemy of the French
Buckingham now passed to the other extreme and insisted
on an offensive treaty being made with France for of the
treaty that Madame had negotiated at Dover, he, of course,
as a Protestant, knew nothing. He now offered to go to
France to reply to the compliments of the Marechal de
Bellefonds and to bring about closer relations between the
two nations, and since it was, after all, necessary to have
some treaty in which the Protestant Ministers of the Crown
could participate, the mission took place, to the infinite
amusement of the initiated, with Gramont as Buckingham's
companion ' gouverneur,' Gramont calls it, and he tells
Lionne full of pride that it is at Charles's request. In fact,
Gramont feels he is the man of the hour, the diplomatist
who has brought England and France together and who
1 Savile Correspondence, p. 25.
* Aff. Etr., Corr. Pol. Angleterre, 99, f. 231, July 7th, 1670 (N.S.), to
Lionne.
8 /&,, f. 245, July 1 2th, 1670,
38 ANTHONY HAMILTON
would delight in provoking a rupture between England and
Holland. Van Beuninghen, the envoy of the Grand Pen-
sionary, is ' furious ' at the projected expedition, so Gramont
notes with satisfaction, 1 and he proceeds to treat him with
a studied insolence which he considers a further diplomatic
achievement. On one occasion, " Aprs tous nos com-
plimens " the story is told by the Count himself with great
complacency in one of his rare letters " je luy dis M r de
Vanbeuning, vous souvient-il lorsque vous me disiez a
Paris que ces Messieurs (the English) toient des mise'rables
et que les Holandois les bateroient partout ; avec son
esprit il fut embarasse', se mit pourtant a lire, et me dit
qu'il avoit veu a Amsterdam M r le grand M 1 de Ragny.
Je luy dis que je luy croyois mais qu'il ne faloit pas changer
de discours. II s'en alia en me disant que je ne changeois
pas et que j'estois aussy mauvais qu'a Paris, voila ses
propres mots, c'estoit au cercle assez proche du Roy devant
quelques Anglois qui estoient avec nous qui ne regardrent
pas de bon ceil le Ministre extraordinaire lorsque je leur
disois qu'il assuroit a Paris que les Holandois les batteroient
tou jours." 2
Gramont and his prote'ge', as he was pleased to consider
him, left London in the beginning of August. 8 He doubtless
shared in the royal entertainments with which the Duke
was honoured and probably felt that the Duke's zeal in
negotiating the mock treaty was in no little measure due
to his influence.
When Buckingham was about to return, Colbert de
Croissy, the Ambassador in England, heard that Gramont
intended to accompany him. He was not a little dismayed,
for Gramont, it would seem, had not been all that could
be desired during his stay in London. Colbert had not
thought it necessary, at the time, to trouble Lionne, but
now he regretted his indulgence. For some unknown reason
Gramont had tried first of all to sow dissension between
1 Aff. Etr., Corr. Pol. Angleterre, 99, f. 245, July I2th, 1670, to Lionne.
1 Ib., f. 220, July ist, 1670, to Lionne.
* En depit du vieux Saint Alban
Et d' Arlington et d'Haliface
Et d'une nymphe encore a seduisante face
II enleva le Buckingham.
Hamilton, (Euvres, I, p. 12. Hamilton was not aware that the opposi-
tion of Arlington was feigned in order to increase the Duke's desire. The
nymph is, of course, Lady Shrewsbury,
THE GENDARMES ANGLAIS 39
Colbert and Arlington, but finding his efforts of no avail,
he had tried, ' with all the skill imaginable/ to bring about
a rupture between Colbert and Buckingham, and might
have succeeded had not a chance meeting in the park of
' Richemont ' cleared up the misunderstanding between
the two. Colbert had thereupon taken the Count to task,
with the result that the latter bore him a grudge for some
time. 1
Arlington, too, was no less anxious that the Count,
' capable de nous brouiller tous,' should be made to stay
in his own country. 2 But it was too late now ; Gramont
was already on his way to England, Louis having somewhat
reluctantly permitted him to go. When, however, Louis
heard of Gramont's misdeeds, he at once sent a letter for
him to Colbert which the latter was to use if Gramont made
himself at all disagreeable.
" ST. GERMAIN, le zAfjour de septembre, 1670.
Mons. le Comte de Gramont, je vous fais cette lettre
pour vous dire qu'en quelque temps elle vous soit rendue
par le S r Colbert mon Amb eur en Angleterre, mon intention
est que vous partiez de Londres sans delay pour revenir
en France toutes autres affaires et considerations cessantes
a quoy m'assurant que vous ne manquerez de satisfaire,
je ne vous la feray plus expresse, pliant sur ce Dieu qu'il
vous ayt," 3 etc.
No necessity, however, arose for using the letter. Gramont
had evidently come back in a better disposition ; as a
matter of fact, a quarrel which had taken place between
him and Buckingham on the eve of their departure, had
rather a sobering effect on him. Louis had presented the
Duke with some very fine horses, and Gramont, who con-
sidered himself privileged to say anything he liked, remarked
that if a stranger in England had commended any of the
horses in the King's stables, the King would have sold them
to him as dear as he could, but would never have presented
them. The Duke was naturally indignant and Louis
was not less displeased at Gramont's indiscretion, saying,
so it was reported, " you have lost my favour once through
1 Aff. Etr., Con. Pol. Angleterre, 99, f. 310, Sept. i$th, 1670, to Lionne,
2 Ib.
8 Ib,, i. 332.
40 ANTHONY HAMILTON
your disrespect, have a care of doing it a second." 1 The
Countess de Gramont managed to reconcile them, outwardly
at least and for the sake of appearances, but not even
Arlington's intervention could bring the two friends to a
good understanding again and Gramont left England
about three weeks after his return with Buckingham. The
treaty which Buckingham had so energetically promoted
in Paris, the traite simule, as it was styled by the initiated,
was almost completed and Gramont was to have taken it
to France if it had been ready in time. 2
In spite of the present of 1000 which Charles had given
him earlier in the year, Gramont considered that the King
was still somewhat in his debt, so, in a month or two, he
proceeded to pen the following curious long-winded letter
to Arlington :
" Le mareschal de Gramont quy connoist bien nostre
Cour m'a dit quil ny auoit pas grande chose a faire pour
les courtisans sils n'estoient recommande's par certaines
puissances ; et qu'il estoit persuadez que sy le Roy
d'Angleterre vouloit parler au Roy en faueur de la Comtesse
de Gramont et de moy, que nos affaires en yroit mieux.
Je luy ay respondu que cestoit assure* que le Roy d'Angle-
terre auoit asses de bonte pour faire les choses quy pourroient
servir a me faire du bien. ' Je vous conseille,' me dit-il
dy trauailler auec empressement, et ne laisse*s pas perdre
cette ocasion quy me paroist fauorable.' II fault a ce
quon dit que le Roy parle a Mr. Colbert, Ambassadeur,
afin quil escriue ici Tamitie quil a pour moy, et combien
les interestz de la Comtesse luy sont cher par Thonneur
qu'elle a de luy apartenir et par les services que luy ont
rendu tous ces (ses) proches, et par la tendre amitie' que
Madame auoit pour etie.
" Enfin, mon cher Milor, c'est a vous a faire que la chose
reussisse autement pour vostre amy. Je vous prie de dire
au Roy quil est oblige* a quelque chose de plus pour moy
que pour les autres, puisque toute la France c'est (sait)
bien que je pris autement ces (ses) interestz durant la
1 R.O. St. P., Foreign, France, 130, f. 121, Sept. i6th, 1670, Francis
Vernon to ? Williamson.
AS. Etr., Corr. Pol. Angleterre, 99, f. 325, Lionne to Colbert, Sept. i7th,
f. 3586, Colbert to Lionne, Oct. 2nd ; f. 365, the same to the same, Oct.
6th, 1670.
THE GENDARMES ANGLAIS 41
guerre (de) Holande et que je failly a estre chasse*. Con-
clusion, il fault que M. Colbert escriue ici apres que le Roy
luy aura parle dans des termes trespressantz, et que le Roy
vostre maistre enuoye vostre lettre a son Ambassadeur
dans le meme sens, adressante au Roy. II a de lesprit ;
il tournera cela comme il voudra. Encore une fois, le Roy
y est oblige par tous les services que je luy ay rendu.
" Mon petit neueu Mr. de Lauzun espouze dimanche la
grande Mademoiselle. Vous croires peut estre que je suis
deueuus foux de vous mander cela, mais il ny a rien de sy
vray. Cela fait un grand bruit icy. Jay dy toutes les
particularites a vostre Ambassadeur, quy vous le mandera.
Ne dittes pas que c'est moy quy vous a mande* cette
nouuelle.
" Pour le Milor Arlinton." 1
The letter seems to have brought him some help ; 2 in
any case Gramont was soon back in England as envoy
from the French court, 3 and could claim in person, very
much more effectively than in any letter, the reward due
to his merits.
1 Hist. MSS. Comm., MSS. of the Duke of Buccleuch at Montagu
House, I, pp. 490-491 (Dec. i6th, 1670).
8 Ib., p. 495, Jan. 28th, 1671.
8 Charles had sent Lord Bellasis to Dunkirk to compliment Louis on
his arrival there, and the Marquis de Vergest and Gramont carried back
compliments in return (Cal. St. P., Dom., 1671, pp. 212, 236, 271). On
this occasion Evelyn met Gramont at dinner at ' Mr. Treasurer's/ but he
records nothing beyond the mere fact (Diary, II, p. 322).
CHAPTER IV
1671-1674
THE REGIMENT D'HAMILTON
PREPARATIONS diplomatic and military for
war with the United Provinces were going on all
this time in France, ever since the signing of the
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1668. The allies
and possible allies of the Dutch were skilfully detached.
Instead of disbanding the regiments which with the peace
had become unnecessary, Louvois kept them on, increased
them in size and raised new regiments. For the war in the
Spanish Low Countries Louis had had 72,000 men at his
disposition ; on the 1st of February, 1672, their number
was 120,000. l Of the 87 cavalry regiments 9 were foreign,
one of them being the English regiment of Sir Henry Jones
which, after the death of Sir Henry in 1673 was given to
the Duke of Monmouth, and known by his name or also
as Royal Anglais 2 (not to be confused with the Duke's
regiment of foot, Royal Anglais). Of the 58 infantry regi-
ments 12 had been raised in other countries, two of these
in Ireland by George Hamilton and Went worth Dillon,
fourth Earl of Roscommon, one in Scotland, Lord George
Douglas's regiment, already mentioned ; and one in Eng-
land, the above regiment of the Duke of Monmouth. 3
According to the Treaty of Dover Charles had agreed to
furnish 6000 men and to support them in the French army
in the case of war with Holland ; one of the secret articles
1 Lavisse, Histoire de France, VII (Part 2), p. 238 and note.
1 R.O. St. P., Foreign, France, 136. In his Histoire de la Cavalerie
Franfaise, III, p. 250, Susane says that the regiment ' Johns ' was raised
on Nov. 9th, 1672, but by this time it had been at least a year in existence.
Cf. St. P., Dom., 1671, p. 532, and Guerre, 294, No. 106, Bussidre to Louvois,
Aug. 1 6th, 1672.
8 Lavisse, op. cit., p. 308 ; Cal. St. P., Dom., 1671, pp. 278, 572, 575 ;
1671-1672, pp. 6, 316, 391 ; Guerre, 271, No. 19, Colbert to Louvois,
Feb. ist, 1672.
42
THE REGIMENT D'HAMILTON 43
annexed, however, reduced this number to 4000 if the
circumstances of Charles did not permit of his sending
the larger number. The traite simule signed on December
f, 1670, retained both the articles referring to the
6000 and 4000 men respectively.
But as the time for fulfilling this promise drew near
Charles, hampered by his eternal financial difficulties,
begged Louis to relieve him of his obligations ; the money
that would have been required for the maintenance of these
auxiliary forces would be used towards the improving of
the fleet, and, if Louis wished, Charles would raise 8000
or 10,000 men in England, to be, of course, supported
by Louis. Louis consented to set him free and availed
himself of his offer of men to the extent of 2000. These
were the men brought over by Monmouth ; the regiment
d' Hamilton, however, and probably also the regiment de
Roscommon were raised at Louis's expense. A third
treaty signed at Whitehall on February -&, 1672, declared
in a secret article that Charles was free of all obligations
for the year 1672, but would be expected to furnish men,
as stipulated, in the year following, as long as the war
continued. 1
To return to the regiment d'Hamilton, in June, 1671,
Charles directed the Lords Justices of Ireland to permit
Hamilton to raise a regiment of foot in Ireland of
1671 1500 men besides officers for the service of the Most
Christian King, and since it was not convenient for
the matter to be made public, the said levies were to be made
and men transported with all the secrecy possible. 2 Accord-
ing to the articles signed by George Hamilton in April, 1671,
the regiment was to consist of fifteen companies of 100 men
each, all the men to be of proper age and strength, well
clothed and armed only with a good sword and belt. On
landing in France the officers and men were to take an oath
that they would do the King good and faithful service against
all except the King of Great Britain. In the event of a
rupture between the said King and Louis, the latter promised
to allow the regiment to march to any port and embark. 3
1 Mignet, Negotiations, III, pp. 192-193, 198, 259, 264-265, 653-654,
701.
* Cal. St. P., Dom., 1671, pp. 311-312.
* Ib., p. 312. For the full French text of the capitulation see
Appendix I, p. 277.
44 ANTHONY HAMILTON
In this regiment Anthony and his younger brother
Richard served, as well as their relative, Gustavus Hamil-
ton, 1 the defender of Enniskillen, and the gallant Sarsfield. 2
Their youngest brother, John, never served in France,
though this is often stated to have been the case. 3 In
spite of all researches very little is known of Anthony's life
up to the Revolution in Ireland, but here, at least, can be
recounted an act of gallantry on his part. Both George
and Anthony Hamilton were in Ireland in the summer of
1671, when their men were being got together. On the
iQth of May, between two and three o'clock in the morning
a fire broke out in the storehouse of Dublin Castle, and the
whole building eventually burned down to the ground.
In order to save the castle itself the Lord Lieutenant
ordered the storehouse and some adjoining buildings to be
blown up, and for this purpose Anthony Hamilton and his
cousin, Lord John Butler, rashly entered the burning place
and at great peril to their lives brought out a barrel of
powder with which they demolished the buildings through
which the fire could have spread. 4
By September the regiment was ready to embark. An
Irish correspondent praises the men and informs Joseph
Williamson, Arlington's secretary, that George Hamilton's
diligence and discreet conduct have been extraordinary,
and that their greatest fanatics pay him great respect for
his civil carriage to all sorts of people. 5
With whatever secrecy the raising of these troops may
have been carried on, the Conde de Molina, the Spanish
ambassador, heard of it, just as he had heard of the Gen-
darmes Anglais in 1667, and again expressed his displeasure.
He even wrote, in August, to the Spanish resident at Paris
that he had caused the permission granted for the raising
of men in Ireland to be revoked. 6 Louis' intentions were
not known, but the growth of the French army could not
but be a menace to Spain, and in particular to the Nether-
land possessions. Yet though Charles may have led the
Guerre, 269, No. 158, Louvois to Gustavus Hamilton, Nov. I4th, 1672.
Avaux, Negotiations, p. 519.
Sourches, Memoires, III, Appendix VIII, p. 516.
Cal. St. P., Dom., 1671, p. 256.
Ib., p. 468.
R.O. St. P., Foreign, France, 131, f. 192, to Arlington, August 9th,
THE REGIMENT D'HAMILTON 45
Ambassador to believe that his wishes would be carried
out, no stop was put to the raising of the regiment and
a month later he was still complaining of the levies. Charles
assured him that Hamilton had no express licence, and
Arlington coldly told him that he must not think it strange
if a gentleman who had been the King's page abroad and
had lost his employment at home for being a Roman Catho-
lic should have some more than ordinary connivance from
his friends and relatives in Ireland, and, taking the matter
in the worst sense he could give, it would not amount to
the breech of any article between the King, his master and
the Crown of Spain. 1
Louis, according to an anonymous authority, considered
Hamilton's regiment very good, especially the officers,
who were all men of good birth, fine stature and fort mag-
nifiques. 2 George Hamilton served at the head of this
regiment during the following campaigns, though the
Compagnie des Gendarmes Anglais still belonged to him
as well.
In March, 1672, war was at last declared against Holland
by England and France. The rendezvous of the French
king's troops was Charleroi, where they met in the
1672 beginning of May. Perwich, the English agent in
Paris, relates about this time that Louis was so ill
satisfied with the regiment d' Hamilton as to order its being
left in garrison in Liege. 3 If this was really the case, the
disgrace can only have been of short duration, for, according
to the very reliable Chronologic Militairef George Hamilton
and his regiment joined the French army after the famous
passage of the Rhine in June, where Gramont's nephew,
the young Comte de Guiche, showed such bravery, and
where Conde received a wound which, slight as it was,
incapacitated him for the time being. Hamilton was not
therefore present at the taking of the Rhine fortresses of
Buderich, Orsay, Rheinberg and Wesel, but Gramont was
with the King, and it was he who was sent to the com-
manders of Orsay and Rheinberg, to invite them to capitu-
late ; just as he had been sent to Dole in the Franche
1 Arlington Letters, II, pp. 332-333, Sept. 7th, 1671.
* Bibliotheque Nationale, Cabinet des litres, Vol. 345, dossier bleu
Hamilton, 8904, f. 39.
3 Perwich Papers, p. 220.
4 Pinard, Chronologic Militaire, VI, p. 429.
46 ANTHONY HAMILTON
Comte in 1668. l While Turenne remained to take Arnheim
and the towns on the Yssel, Louis with his army, including
now the regiment d'Hamilton, 2 proceeded to Utrecht,
which fell on the 20th of June. 3
The Dutch, ill prepared and taken by surprise, had made
a poor defence. Now, as a last resort, the dykes were cut
so that the province of Holland might at least be saved,
and the country between Utrecht and Amsterdam being
under water there was little more to be done for the present.
Louis, therefore, rejecting the Dutch offers of peace, with-
drew from the Republic, but left a small army, which
included the regiment d'Hamilton under the Marechal de
Luxembourg, and from the autumn of that year till the
1 Pellisson, Lettres Historiques, I, pp. 105, 114 ; JR.O. St. P., Foreign,
France, 134, f. 32 ; Saint Maurice, Lettres sur la Cour de France, II, pp. 310,
312 ; Rousset, Histoire de Louvois, I, pp. 135-136.
Grammont dedans la ville
Capitules diligemment,
Car tout vous est facile.
Ou comme amant,
Ou comme amant,
Ou comme habile.
Tout est utile.
Tout se rend a votre agrement.
(Bibl. Nat. MS., fr. 12618, p. 177.)
* R.O. St. P., Foreign, France, Vol. 134, f. no, George Hamilton to
(Williamson), June 29th, 1672.
8 Amongst the Englishmen who accompanied the army was Sidney
Godolphin, Envoy Extraordinary, and from his pen we have a most
interesting account of Louis and his officers. The letter is directed to
Clifford.
" From ye Camp within 2 daies march of Utrecht. June 28, '72.
Instead of talking to you of y fl conquests of y e Army w* 11 in themselves
are vast (yet little if you saw y pitifull defence that was made by y*
Dutch) I will entertaine you w th y greatnesse of y* court here w* 11 in my
opinion is at least as considerable. For, my Lord, 'tis not to be imagined
y infinite number of brave and knowing officers that are about y King
nor what a world of young Gentlemen of Quality there are in y Army
perpetually ready to seek all occasions where 'tis possible to get any
reputation or learne any experience ; besides that y King himselfe does
really distinguish very well of men's merits and seldome fails to reward
those that deserve it before they expect it ; hee is very carefull to provide
for y* convenience and for y e subsistance of y e souldiers and very
painful in his own person, alwayes marching on horseback in y heat
and in y rain, all this that I say is really due to him and more of this
kind, yet I am of opinion that if y* Prince of Conde had not been hurt,
y e Army had been yet farther advanced then it is, y e Army when y e
King commands in person seeming most commonly but to receive these
places w^ before had yielded upon y e summons of y e Prince of Cond6 or
M. de Turenne." (R.O. St. P., Foreign, France, 134, f. 93, June 28th, 1672.)
THE REGIMENT D'HAMILTON 47
spring of the following Hamilton's men were stationed in
Zutphen on the Yssel.
Life was not altogether easy for George Hamilton.
Letters came to him from Louvois, reproaching him that
most of his soldiers had neither shoes nor swords, reproach-
ing him for the disorderly conduct of his regiment, " your
soldiers steal everything that comes near them." To make
good all the losses the double of what the soldiers' thefts were
worth was to be taken off the captains' pay. 1 One of his
men killed a burgher of Zutphen ' by mistake.' 2 A captain
of the regiment d' Hamilton and another of the regiment
de la Vallette came to blows. 3 Difficulties arose from the
fact that Louvois had ordered a Frenchman to preside over
a council of Irish officers that was to judge one of the
soldiers. " These gentlemen," Louvois is informed by the
Comte de Montauban, " have declared that no one under
any consideration could preside over their councils. They
are not easy to deal with in the matter." 4 Dissensions were
rife in the regiment itself. Gustavus Hamilton, at this time
a captain, like Anthony Hamilton, quarrelled with the
Lieutenant-Colonel Dongan. 5 George Hamilton suspended
Dongan temporarily for refusing to apologize in presence,
of the officers of the garrison ; 6 some of the officers, however,
took Dongan's part and the regiment continued for some
time to be divided into factions, an unsatisfactory state of
affairs. 7
Recruits had not to be raised this winter as George
Hamilton had been given the choice of 400 men out of the
regiment de Roscommon. The King on granting Hamilton
1 Guerre, Vol. 269, pp. 235, 297, 299, Oct. 24th, 28th, 29th, 1672.
Guerre, Vol. 269, p. 121, Louvois to Montefranc, Nov. nth, 1672.
Ib., Vol. 303, p. 94, Louvois to Gaffard, April 6th, 1673.
Ib., Vol. 333, No. 120, March i4th, 1673.
A brother of the Earl of Limerick (Avaux, Negotiations, p. 520).
" Cela fera trds grand bien au corps qu'il ay le temps de ce remetre
1' esprit dens 1'asiet ou un homme le doit avoir qui est a la test d'un nouveau
regiman. . . . Son absence pour quelque temps fera du bien au regiman
que vous veres par le soin des capitains assurement en estat de vous donner
tout sorte de contentement, les hommes estant trds bons et les compagnies
fort complectes et quent les habits que iay commande a Paris seront arrives
et que jatans au premier jour, il y aura deux bons batallons et bien en estat
de servir." (Guerre, 333, No. 266, George Hamilton to Louvois, March 3oth,
1673 ; cf. Vol. 294, No. 387, Gaffard to Louvois, Sept. 25th, 1672 ; Vol.
269, p. 158, Louvois to Gustavus Hamilton, Nov. 4th, 1672 ; Vol. 303,
p. 104, Louvois to George Hamilton, April 6th, 1673.)
7 Cf. Fitzgerald, Irish Popish Plot, p. 5.
48 ANTHONY HAMILTON
permission remarked publicly that he had never seen any
regiment of foreigners subsist so well and in such good
order as Hamilton's. 1
Great preparations were being made for next year's
campaign. A story is told that Corneille having asked the
King to honour a new play, Cleodate, with his presence,
received the following answer " Corneille, il faut songer a
la guerre." 2 The Orange reaction had been strengthened
by the murder of the De Witts, and the most grim resistance
was to be expected from William, now the undisputed
head. The Grand Elector of Brandenburg and the Emperor
had with the States-General formed a first Coalition against
France. The war was no longer a mere affair with the
Dutch.
In spring Louis ordered Hamilton's regiment to the
Rhine, to join Turenne's army which had been fighting
the imperial troops and the troops of the Grand
1673 Elector the whole winter. Conde* was sent to Utrecht
and Louis proceeded to Maestricht. Little enough
was done by the French in that summer of 1673 except
the taking of Maestricht by Louis.
By the end of May Hamilton and his men reached Turenne,
who thought the regiment very good and in good condition
for service. 8 George Hamilton writes very contentedly
from the army in June ; his one regret is their enforced
idleness, but he foresees great things when the time for
action comes ; they are only 21,000 or 22,000 men, it is
true, but the finest troops in the world, and, moreover,
" la iuste confience que nous avons en nostre generale nous
rend ie croy invincible/' he concludes enthusiastically. 4
July still finds them in as great a calm as if they were
in Paris, awaiting eagerly news of the enemy's army, and
yet, what interests the Hamiltons even more, is the Duke
of York's conversion and its possible consequences. 6 Monte-
cuculi with the Imperial army began to move in August,
and the desire of the French to engage in action was
1 R.O. St. P., Foreign, France, 134, f. 181, Godolphin to Arlington,
August 1 2th, 1672, and f. 190, Perwich to Williamson, August 26th, 1672.
* R.O. St. P., Foreign, France, 135, f. 149, Francis Veraon to William-
son, Dec. 7th, 1672.
8 Turenne, Lettres el Mimoives, II, p. 282.
4 R.O. St. P., Foreign, France, 137, f. 127, George Hamilton to William-
son, June 22nd [1673].
* Ib. t f. 234, July 25th. To Williamson, probably.
THE REGIMENT D'HAMILTON 49
indescribable, and nevertheless the elusive and cautious
enemy always managed to avoid battle. 1
England in the meantime was waging war on the sea
with no great glory. The battle of Southwold Bay in 1672
was, if anything, a Dutch victory, and in the summer of
1673 the Anglo-French fleet was again defeated. While
George, Anthony and very likely also Richard Hamilton
were fighting or waiting to fight for France, Thomas Hamil-
ton, the sailor, was serving in the English navy, along with
the eldest brother James, who acted as one of the Lords
Commissioners for Prizes, and latterly as colonel of a regi-
ment of foot which was carried on board the Royal Charles.
His work as a Lord Commissioner was hampered by a
number of disadvantages, he complains of the ' intolerable
crowd ' on his ship and the fact that they had not a single
boat to send with men to board the prizes nor a place in
which to examine a prisoner or to keep their papers. Being
at sea he also found it very difficult to recruit his regiment, 2
but he served his country cheerfully until he received a
fatal wound on May 28th at the naval fight of Schonvelt, his
leg being shot off. He was struck down so near Prince
Rupert that those who saw him fall called out that the
Prince was slain.
After two or three days he was sent on land by a yacht,
but he died on the 6th of June and was buried on the
day following in Westminster Abbey. 3 According to the
surgeon of another ship, the surgeon of James Hamilton's
regiment had refused to obey orders to go on board ship,
and Hamilton had died for want of sufficient medical
attendance. 4 The Duchess of Ormonde, his aunt, who was
with him in his last hours, relates that he " showed the
greatest patience in the pain that he endured that was
possible for a man to do and said nothing that was ill in his
ravings but of the business of the sea and would be silent
when he was desired." His death was a great sorrow to
1 See Appendix II, p. 279, for an interesting letter of George Hamilton's
describing their vain endeavours to make the Imperialists fight on Sept. 12.
2 Cal. St. P., Dom., 1671-1672, passim ; 1672, pp. 74, 156, etc. ; 1673,
pp. 182, 279, 280.
3 CaL St. P., Dom., 1673, p. 309 ; Letters Addressed to Sir Joseph
Williamson (Camden Soc. Publ.), I, p. 17 ; Camden Soc. Miscellany, VIII,
p. 22 ; Cunningham, Nell Gwyn, p. 207.
4 Cal. St. P., Dom., 1673, p. 570.
50 ANTHONY HAMILTON
all his relatives, particularly the Ormondes, and many
others mourned in him a friend generous and ready to
serve all those who needed his kindness. 1
Madame de Gramont was overwhelmed with grief at the
news of her brother's death, and, like George Hamilton, she
wrote to Arlington begging him to do his best for the
widow and children. " Je says que vous aves Tame belle/'
she adds diplomatically. 2 In any case a good pension for
life was settled on Elizabeth Hamilton and her sons. 3
In August a second coalition was formed against Louis.
The latter part of 1673 was not very favourable to Turenne,
partly on account of Louvois's failing to send sufficient
reinforcements, partly on account of Turenne 's plans being
upset by the treachery of the Bishop of Wiirtzburg, who
opened his gates to the Imperial army. The Prince of
Orange outmanoeuvring Conde was able to join Montecuculi
and took Bonn. All this time the English, Scottish and
Irish regiments had given Turenne satisfaction, 4 while the
letters the officers write home from France emphasize how
very kind and considerate Turenne is to them. 6
In England the war and the French alliance were rapidly
becoming more and more unpopular. Was it not highly
scandalous to the Protestant religion, asked the English,
that the King of England, king of a Protestant religion,
should stand obliged to make war with a Protestant state
till they would grant a free toleration of the Popish religion,
restore the Church lands to the Popish clergy, erect public
churches for Popish idolatrous worship and admit Papists
to an equal share in the Government ? 6 The marriage of
James to a Catholic princess increased the hostility. The
Cabal had fallen, and Danby, now the leading Minister,
1 Ormonde MSS., Ill, p. 452.
1 R.O. St. P., Foreign, France, 137, f. 210, July I3th, 1673. Cf. George
Hamilton's letter. Vol. 138, f. 32, August 25th, 1673. The Comte de
Gramont received congratulations from his friend Bussy (Correspondance,
II, p. 270).
8 Cal. of Treasury Books, 1672-1675, p. 163. There were three sons,
James, who became 6th Earl of Abercorn, George, who fell in the battle
of Steinkirk, and William, captain of an Infantry regiment, who was
murdered in Ireland in 1686. (Ormonde MSS. (N.S.), VII, pp. 439, etc.)
4 Turenne, Lettres et Mtmoires, II, pp. 339, 351.
5 R.O. St. P., Foreign, France, Vol. 138, f. 92, Crofts to Arlington, f. 84,
G. Hamilton to Williamson, Sept. 2ist, 1673 ; ff. 99-100, Lord Arlington
to Williamson, Sept. 28th, 1673.
Cal. St. P., Dom., 1673-1675, pp. 128-134.
THE REGIMENT D'HAMILTON 51
was an enemy to France. On February igth, 1674, Charles
was compelled to make peace with the Republic, in spite
of his engagements with Louis, to whom the loss of the
English alliance was a serious matter, confronted as he was
by a second hostile coalition. England and the
1674 Republic were pledged not to aid each other's
enemies, but Charles did not withdraw his troops
serving in France, and though the Prince of Orange pressed
him to do so, he assured the French Ambassador that he
would leave them, whatever instance was made to him by
the Dutch, by Spain or by the Parliament. 1
1 Dalrymple, Memoirs, II, p. 108.
CHAPTER V
1674-1685
THE REGIMENT D'HAMILTON (continued}. DEATH OF
GEORGE HAMILTON. RICHARD HAMILTON
BEFORE peace had been made with the Republic
Charles had sent in January a warrant to Lord
Essex, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, directing him
to permit George Hamilton to raise 600 foot soldiers,
adding that if there were " any Felons or others in any
of the Gaoles convicted and designed to be transported
to forraine Plantations/' Hamilton might have as
1674 many of them as he liked. l Both George and Anthony
Hamilton, the latter a captain in the regiment, were
in Ireland in February and March raising men to be shipped
from Waterford in vessels that Louis was sending across. 8
According to a doubtful authority 8 they had difficulties
enough to contend with ; upon information to the Lord
1 B.M. Stowe MSS., Vol. 204, f. 28.
1 Ib., f. 88.
8 Fitzgerald, Narrative of the Irish Popish Plot. Fitzgerald has a good
deal to say about the regiment d'Hamilton. He knew most of the officers
who had come across in March, 1674 (he gives the date as 1673, which is
obviously O.S.), to raise recruits, viz. Captain David Macnamara, Captain
John Lacy, Captain Con O'Neale (a son of Owen Roe O'Neill), one Mac-
mahan and Lieutenant Hurly. He asked Lacy " whether there was any
probability of the French invading Ireland, to which Lacy replied that if
the Dutch were once subdued the French would establish the Roman
Catholic religion in all the northern part of Europe, and as far as he could
understand by Marshal Turenne the same laws were to be established in
Ireland as in France. He also gave Fitzgerald an account of the Irish
who were being trained in France, and said that welfare in Ireland did
greatly rely on the success of their forces in France, and that he did much
admire that any person of quality that did understand the design of that
war should stand so much in their own light as to slip so good an oppor-
tunity and so just a cause, being altogether to destroy heretics."
The same was confirmed to him by Captain O'Neale, who said that " he
did prevail with a great many young gentlemen to venture their fortunes
abroad, and that he did believe if they did generally know in Ulster how
the game was playing for them, that there would be hardly any left in
the whole country, but would all go unanimously to France " (pp. 5-6).
The whole narrative is written with the fevered imagination of the Popish
plot tracts.
5*
THE REGIMENT D'HAMILTON 53
Deputies of Ireland special orders were sent to secure the
officers and to stop the men, which obliged the officers
to return to France alone. There is, however, nothing in
the French archives to confirm this, and the letters that
George Hamilton wrote at this period contain no allusion
to any such misfortune. 1
Hamilton with his recruits joined Turenne about the
middle of May. Turenne's army, which included the regi-
ments of Monmouth, Douglas, Hamilton and Churchill,
was to fight the Imperialists, and the Duke of Lorraine on
the Rhine, Conde was to oppose William in Flanders, while
Louis proceeded to the Franche-Comte, which he again
took easily. Conde was semi-victorious in the battle of
Seneffe. Turenne's campaign is, of course, the only one
which concerns this narrative. It was to be a much more
eventful campaign than that of 1673.
With a small army Turenne crossed the Rhine at Philipps-
burg, and on the i6th of June scattered an army of Im-
perialists at Sinzheim before Bournonville had arrived with
the main forces. George Hamilton was at the head of his
own regiment and of Royal Anglais (or Monmouth). A
curious little incident took place during the day. After
the city and the castle had been taken, the fight was con-
tinued with great violence on a plateau. The forces were
all drawn up in readiness to meet the enemy's charges,
when Turenne, the beloved general, passed on his way to
examine a narrow gorge where he had posted some dragoons.
Hamilton's Irish and English seeing him come shouted and
threw their hats in the air and some even discharged their
muskets ' en signe de joye/ which demonstration, by the
way, hastened on the enemy's attack. The different
' Relations ' of the battle are full of praise for Hamilton
and Douglas. 2
The Palatinate was cruelly ravaged that summer. Five
towns and twenty-five villages were burned, 3 but by this
1 Cf. also Turenne, Lettres et Memoires, II, pp. 460, 479, from which it
would appear that everything had gone on normally. Fitzgerald, writing
from memory, probably misdated the event, viz. March, 1673-1674, instead
of March, 1674-1675, when regulations were much more stringent and the
recruits for the regiment d' Hamilton were really dispersed.
2 Gazette de France, 1674, pp. 600, 609, 628, 650-652.
3 De Quincy (Hist. Mil., I, p. 396) makes the English soldiers chiefly
responsibfe for the burning of the Palatinate. Cf. Courtilz deSandras Vie
de Turenne (1685), pp. 363-364. He is by no means a reliable authority,
but was probably in Turenne's army at the time.
54 ANTHONY HAMILTON
time the number of the Imperialists had increased so con-
siderably that Turenne was forced to recross the Rhine.
Bournonville entering Alsace and taking possession of
Strasbourg, Turenne fought him at Entzheim, near by,
on the 4th of October. Turenne had taken possession of a
small village called Holtzheim and left Douglas and de
Lorges there. The enemy's army was massed about Entz-
heim. Between Holtzheim and Entzheim there lay a small
wood. It was round and in this wood that the battle raged
the whole day long, though Turenne's army was worn out
by a march of forty hours across fields sodden with rain.
Monmouth's foot and Churchill's regiment, led by the young
colonel, were there from the beginning. As the struggle
grew hotter in the wood other regiments, Anjou, Turenne,
Bretagne, Hamilton, etc., were sent in. George Hamilton's
men slaughtered a battalion of Bournonville's in a hand-to-
hand fight, felling down the enemy with the butt end of
their muskets. The regiment was cruelly shattered ; George
and Anthony were both wounded, 1 George in three places,
and his horse was shot under him ; for one moment the
regiment d' Hamilton gave way and fell back on the re*gi-
ment d' Anjou and the enemy pressed forward, but the
Marquis de Vaubrun led the men on again. Three times
the wood was taken from the French and three times it was
recaptured. They fought till night separated them and the
Imperialists retired to Strasbourg. The action was not
decisive. " Monsieur d' Hamilton," writes Turenne, " a
fait tout ce qui peut s'imaginer," in fact he was heard to
say that if Hamilton had not been wounded, victory was
theirs in that very moment. 2
The Imperialists receiving continual reinforcements,
there now follows that memorable march of Turenne's in
wintry weather, away from the enemy in Alsace into
Lorraine, southwards down the western slope of the Vosges,
eastwards across the trouee de Belfort and up again north-
1 R.O. St. P., Dom., Car. II, 361, No. 247, Oct. 5th, 1674. Churchill to
Monmouth.
1 Turenne, Lettres et Mtmoires, II, p. 587 ; R.O. St. P., Dom. f Car. II,
361, No. 248, Duras to the Duke of York. Oct. 6th. For the above battle
see the Gazette de France, 1674, especially pp. 1066-1067, 1077, 1088-1091,
1095 ; R.O. St. P., Foreign, France, 139, f. 121 (Liste des morts et blesses) ;
the letters from Churchill and Monmouth (which are calendared) ; Turenne,
Lettres et Memoires, II ; Hist. MSS. Comm., 4th Report, p. 238 ; 7th
Report, App., p. 4920. Cf. also Legrand Girard, Turenne en Alsace, and
Des Robert, Les Campagnes de Turenne en Allemagne.
THE REGIMENT D'HAMILTON 55
wards into Alsace to the utter consternation of the enemy
scattered in their quarters throughout the province. Turenne
defeated them at Mulhouse on the 2Qth of December and at
Turckheim on January 5th.
George and Anthony Hamilton did not, however, take
part in these operations, though their regiment doubtless
did. The time for raising their recruits had come
1675 again and obliged them to go to England in the
end of December. 1 With them came their brother-
in-law Gramont, though not engaged on any such serious
business. "He is doing his duty," Ruvigny, the French
ambassador, tells Pomponne ; " he is winning money and
will bring the King a portrait of Madame de Portsmouth
which she wishes to send to His Majesty/' 2 As Ruvigny
remarks elsewhere, Gramont's expedition was truly a
' joly voyage ' he arrived from Paris with a hundred pistols
in his pocket, he left two months later with five thousand. 3
Immediately on his arrival George Hamilton went to
see Charles to obtain his consent for the raising of 500
men in Ireland. A proclamation had been issued on the
25th of April, 1674, forbidding subjects to enlist in the
service of any foreign power without licence, 4 and later on,
in November, a circular letter had been sent to the Lord
Lieutenants of the maritime counties requiring them to
seize and secure all persons who enlisted or caused others
to enlist in foreign service. 5
Charles replied that according to the treaty with Holland
he ought not to permit any levies, but that Hamilton
could see to his recruits, provided it was ' sous main et a
la derobee,' and provided that he embarked them from a
port where there was no castle or garrison. He was espe-
cially cautioned that stringent orders had been given to
imprison all soldiers who attempted to take service abroad.
Moreover, the Dutch Ambassador, if he heard of the pro-
ceedings, ' would loudly complayne/ and Parliament, which
was sure to demand the withdrawal of the English troops
serving in France, was to meet in April, irritated by a
prorogation of more than a year.
1 Cal. St. P., Dom., 1673-1675, pp. 479, 484.
2 Aff. Etr., Corr. Pol. Angleterre, 115, p. 214, Feb. 4th, 1675 (N.S.).
3 Ib., p. 390, March nth, 1675.
4 Cal. St. P., Dom., 1673-1675, p. 230.
5 Ib., p. 414.
56 ANTHONY HAMILTON
Hamilton had previously arranged with Louvois for
ships to be sent to Waterford in March, but as there was
a castle in Waterford, it now became necessary to change
this plan. The Duke of York himself suggested Dingle
as being a very good port without a garrison or anything
' that might incommode,' and accordingly Louvois was
asked to send the ships there on the I5th of March, Style
d'Angleterre, when the recruits were to be there ' infallibly.' 1
George Hamilton did not himself go to Ireland, as his
affairs, so he said, required an early return to France. He
left in the very beginning of March, but Anthony was put
in charge of the difficult expedition, and with him was his
younger brother Richard, who must have entered the
French service some time before. They waited on Lord
Essex, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, brought him George
Hamilton's thanks for his kindness to the officers the year
before and were very well received. Lord Essex was given
to understand from England that Charles wished him to
favour the undertaking in every way. 2
In spite of all this royal protection things did not go
smoothly. "It is impossible to be more unfortunate than
we have been in what we have undertaken for the service
of His Majesty," writes Anthony Hamilton to Ruvigny in
some distress. All had been well at first. Nine hundred and
thirty good men had been brought together at Dingle. The
men were well disciplined by the officers, so that no dis-
orders were committed in the country round about, and
everything was carried on as carefully as possible to prevent
news of the proceedings reaching the Lord Lieutenant
officially from outsiders and thus compelling him to take
action. Hamilton expected the French ships on the 8th
of March, but they did not appear. For a fortnight the men
were kept waiting and still there was no sign of the ships.
Anthony Hamilton borrowed a thousand crowns for their
subsistence. Finally, on March 27th, he saw himself com-
pelled to disband them until the ships should come. He
himself seems to have gone away. All of a sudden, in the
1 Essex Papers (Camden, 1890), pp. 304-305 ; Guerre, 467, No. 4,
G. Hamilton to Louvois, Jan. 6th (O.S.), 1675. On the 2$th of Jan. (O.S.)
Hamilton wrote another letter in case the first was lost. Ib. No. 12, Louvois'
reply is in Vol. 422, No. 220, Feb. I3th (N.S.).
* B.M. Stowe MSS., Vol. 207, ff. 70 and 176, George Hamilton to Lord
Essex, Jan ipth (O.S.) and Feb. 2oth (O.S.), 1675.
THE RfiGIMENT D'HAMILTON 57
first week of April, the French ships arrived unexpectedly
at Kinsale. Instead of the men being quickly and quietly
marched there, Hamilton had first to send orders to the
officers to reassemble the men. The presence of the French
ships became known and created a great sensation. The
officers were arrested at Essex's orders. Essex had given
them all possible connivance, " not seeming to believe y 6
news for a Packett or two," but at last, " when it was too
much y 6 publick discourse/' he was obliged to take measures.
News of the disaster was sent to Anthony Hamilton, and
he hastened to Dublin, where he obtained orders for the
release of the officers on making himself responsible for
them. Borrowing more money from Ruvigny, he made
them get as many men together as they could, to be em-
barked under cover of night, in spite of the strict watch
kept at all the ports. That they did finally manage to set
sail was only due to the fact of Lord Essex's sending word to
the Earl of Orrery to give the recruits time to make good
their escape, for new and urgent complaints had been sent
to Essex. 1
What blame, if any, attaches to Anthony Hamilton is
hard to determine. The French ships, not arriving at the
appointed time or at the harbour chosen, put him into an
exceedingly difficult position ; on the other hand, he ought
probably not to have left the officers as he seems to have
done. 2
The campaign of 1675 was not a very favourable one
to France though it began well. Louis proceeded to Flanders
and took a number of towns, which prevented a junction
of the Imperialists and the Spanish. Conde and William
moved warily about each other. Turenne was, as before,
fighting the Imperialists in Alsace. George, Anthony and
Richard Hamilton, with their regiment and the regiments
1 Guerre, 467, No. 92, Anthony Hamilton to Ruvigny, April i3th (O.S.),
1675 (this letter is given in full on 281, 282, infra, Appendix III); ib.
No. 103, Ruvigny to Louvois, April 29th, 1675 ; Aff. Etr., Corr. Pol.
Angleterre, 1 1 5, p. 61 9, Ruvigny to Pomponne, April 28th, 1675 ; CaL St. P.,
Dom., 1675-1676 ; p. 56, Essex Papers, p. 313.
2 George Hamilton had arranged for ships to arrive on the I5th of
March, whereas Anthony expected them on the 8th. There may have been
some later change in the arrangements so that Anthony Hamilton was
quite justified in expecting them earlier ; but even if there was a mis-
understanding on his part the ships were more than a fortnight behind
the time. In fact Essex says they were twenty days late. (Essex Papers,
P. 3*3-)
58 ANTHONY HAMILTON
of Monmouth, Churchill and Douglas, were serving in his
army. George Hamilton had been made a brigadier on the
I2th of March, in recognition of his services. 1
On the 2yth of July Turenne had drawn close to Monte-
cuculi's army. The Imperialists seemed unwilling to engage
in action, and towards midday Turenne was under the
impression that they were retreating. At two o'clock the
Comte de Roye noticed the advance of a column of German
infantry, and despatched Saint-Hilaire to Turenne to inform
him of their approach. Hardly had Saint-Hilaire returned
when de Roye sent again, this time the Due d'Elbeuf, to
ask the general for more infantry and to request his presence.
Turenne sent him two battalions, but said, as if moved by
a kind of presentiment, that he would remain where he was.
A third message was carried by George Hamilton. Turenne,
yielding, asked for a horse and rode off with Hamilton. This
is the account given by Saint-Hilaire the younger, 2 brother
of the above-mentioned Saint-Hilaire, who, with his father,
was an eye-witness of Turenne's death. The rest of the
story may be told in Madame de Se*vigne"s often-quoted
words, though she makes Turenne meet Hamilton on the
way. " II trouva M. d'Hamilton pr6s de 1'endroit ou il
alloit qui lui dit, ' Monsieur, venez par ici ; on tirera ou
vous allez '- -' Monsieur/ lui dit-il, ' je m'y en vais : je ne
veux point du tout etre tu6 aujourd'hui ; cela sera le
mieux du monde.' II tournait son cheval, il aperc.ut Saint-
Hilaire, qui lui dit, le chapeau a la main : ' Jetez les yeux
sur cette batterie que j'ai fait mettre la.' II retourne deux
pas, et sans etre arret, il re$ut le coup qui emporta le bras
et la main qui tenaient le chapeau de Saint-Hilaire. . . .
On crie, on pleure, M. d'Hamilton fait cesser ce bruit la 3
et oter le petit d'Elbeuf qui e'toit jete' sur ce corps. . . .
On jette un manteau, on le porte dans une haie, on le garde
a petit bruit ; un carosse vient, on 1'emporte dans sa
tente : ce fut la ou M. de Lorges, M. de Roye et beaucoup
d'autres pensrent mourir de douleur." 4
1 Chronologic Militaire, VI, p. 430.
2 Memoires, I, pp. 207-208.
* Cf. Ramsay, Histoire de Turenne, II, p. 583. " Le saisissement de ceux
qui le virent tomber fut inexprimable : Hamilton qui scut mieux se
posseder que les autres, jugeant de quelle consequence il etait de derober
a la connaissance des soldats un accident si funeste, jeta promptement un.
manteau sur le corps et Ton tint d'abord ce malheur secret."
Lettres, IV, pp. 97-98.
THE REGIMENT D'HAMILTON 59
Amongst the soldiers who mourned for their ' father/
none were more sincere than the English. Madame de
Sevigne relates elsewhere 1 that they told M. de Lorges, on
whom the command devolved for a space, that they would
continue this campaign in order to avenge Turenne, but
thereafter they would return to their own country as they
could obey none but M. de Turenne. 2
Meanwhile the Imperialists had taken new courage and
the French army retreated to the Rhine. Near Altenheim,
on the ist of August, they turned to face the enemy and
fought them desperately. Two days before the Imperialists
had already attacked the rearguard, but had been repulsed
by the Chevalier de Boufflers and George Hamilton. 3 This
time the regiment d' Hamilton was posted with five other
regiments to defend the crossing of a stream, and during
three hours they held their own against 6000 or 7000 of the
enemy until the latter fell back. According to De Quincy,
author of the voluminous Military History of the Reign of
Louis XIV, the English and Irish soldiers accomplished
wonders, 4 and Madame de Sevigne exclaims warm-heartedly,
" Les Anglois surtout ont fait des choses romanesques." 5
Conde, leaving his own command to the Marechal de
Luxembourg, had now joined Turenne's army and guided
it very prudently during the rest of the campaign. By
September the Allies evacuated Alsace. At Treves, how-
ever, Conde had been utterly beaten in the beginning of
the month.
In October Louvois directed George Hamilton to see
to his recruits for the next campaign. 6 Louvois was giving
him no easy task, as a brief summary of certain past events
will show. Intense hostility marked our relations with
France. Parliament had met on the isth of April after
1 Ib., p. 52.
2 The day after Turenne's death eight marshals, ironically known as
la monnaie de Turenne, were appointed. It was on this occasion that
Gramont wrote to the newly appointed Marechal de Rochefort : " Mon-
seigneur, la faveur 1'a pu faire autant que le merite. Monseigneur, je suis
votre tres humble serviteur. Le Comte de Gramont." (Sevigne, IV, 12.)
3 De Quincy, Histoire Militaire, I, p. 447.
4 Ib., p. 448.
5 Lettres, IV, p. 3 1 . The 'King was extremely satisfied with the conduct
of the regiment d'Hamilton. Guerre, 427, Nos. 179 and 286, Louvois to
Hamilton, August i2th and isth, 1675.
6 Ib., Vol. 429, No. 130, Oct. 7th, 1675.
60 ANTHONY HAMILTON
a prorogation of more than thirteen months. Its assembly
was watched with some anxiety by France. Foreign Powers
had come to realise the important role played by Parliament,
and their envoys, particularly Ruvigny, had liberal grants
towards the bribery of members.
In the House of Commons it was at once moved that all
the English forces in the French service be recalled and
none be permitted to go over into that service in future.
Ruvigny urged Charles to reply very firmly, if he did not
on this occasion declare his intentions clearly and resolutely,
he must not doubt but that the House would undertake
even greater things. 1 On the 5th of May (O.S.) the King
was addressed for a Proclamation to recall his subjects, 2
and, greatly to Ruvigny's displeasure, Charles's answer
on the 8th did take the shape of a Proclamation command-
ing the immediate return of all subjects who had gone into
the service of the French king since the last treaty of peace
with the States-General, and forbidding all subjects to enter
the said service in future. Those of his troops, however,
who had been in the Most Christian King's service before
the last treaty, he could not, he considered, recall without
derogation to his honour. 8
On the loth the Commons debated on his answer, 4 they
thought it a ' very ill ' one, and said that if they thanked
the King for it they would be thanking him for sending
men into France. Nevertheless, thanks to Ruvigny's
liberality no doubt, when the question whether a further
address should be made to the King was put and the tellers
differed in their account, both parties, about equal in
number, thought themselves wronged, and a scene of inde-
scribable disorder ensued, which is carefully reported to
France by Ruvigny, " ils sont venus jusques a se pousser
les uns les autres, se cracher au visage et mettre la main sur
1 Aff. Etr., Corr. Pol. Angleterre, 116, flf. 24-25, Ruvigny to Pomponne.
May A> 1675.
1 Grey's Debates, III, p. 104 ; Commons Journal, IX, 330.
* Grey, III, 116 ; Commons Journal, IX, p. 333 ; Cal. St. P., Dom..
1675-1676, p. 125 ; Aff. Etr., 116, i. 30, Ruvigny to Pomponne,
May ft. 1675.
4 It is interesting to note that in the debate some exception was claimed
for the ' Scotch Guards ' (but the r6giment de Douglas is meant) as a
thing ' particular in this nation ' and as having been in France for sixty
years at least. All the rest, however, were to be obliged to return. ' Some-
times we are forced to be quit of the Irish, now we must recall them.'
(Grey, III, 119).
THE REGIMENT D'HAMILTON 61
la garde de 1'epee." 1 The further address was moved next
day, but not presented ultimately on account of prorogation.
The resolution for an address to recall all the English
troops was defeated by one vote. What would have hap-
pened had the resolution been carried Ruvigny cannot
foresee, but he assures Pomponne that there was a talk of
giving Charles 2,000,000 provided only he would make
war with France. 2
The proclamation in its original form was published on
the igth of May (O.S.), but recruits continued all the same
to pass into France. The Commons remonstrated with the
King. 3 But a dispute between the Houses on the right of
appeal to the Lords arose and in June Charles prorogued
Parliament till October. On the Qth of November (O.S.)
the Lords agreed to join with the Commons in asking the
King to renew his proclamation, but meeting with the
Commons next day they fell out because the Commons
had ordered those who disobeyed the proclamation to be
punished, and, as Ruvigny explains to Pomponne, the
Lords held that the Commons could inflict no penalties. 4
In any case Charles had promised Ruvigny as far as his
promises went that he would not issue another proclama-
tion recalling his subjects from the service of France. 5
The tension between the Houses on the subject of appeal
became so great and all business being impossible, Parlia-
ment was prorogued, very fortunately for France, on
November 22nd (O.S.) for fifteen months to February,
1677, Charles claiming the French subsidy promised to
him if he would dissolve Parliament, since this would relieve
France of the risk of hostile action on the part of England.
The payment which was not strictly due, Parliament having
1 Aff. Etr., Corr. Pol. Angleterre, 116, ff. 33-34, Ruvigny to Pomponne,
May , 1675. A full description of the disorder is also given in Grey,
III, pp. 128-129, whereas the Commons Journal passes it over in silence.
Cf. Essex Papers (Camden, 1913), pp. 9-11 and Schwerin's despatch in
Orlich's Briefe aus England, p. 24.
z Aff. Etr., Corr. Pol. Angleterre, 116, f. 37, Ruvigny to Pomponne,
May $$, 1675.
3 /&., ff. 57, 59, 79, the same to the same, June 3, 6 and 13 (N.S.).
4 Aff. Etr., Corr. Pol. Angleterre, 117, f. 76, Nov. J-, 1675. " Ne
s'opposant pas, ce seroit consentir a une esp^ce de jurisdiction qu'ils ne
veulent pas souffrir." Commons Journal, IX, pp. 362-367, 371 ; Grey,
III, pp. 334-336.
6 Aff. Etr., Corr. Pol. Angleterre, 117, f. 8 1, to Pomponne, Nov. f,
1675.
62 ANTHONY HAMILTON
been only prorogued, was nevertheless a profitable invest-
ment for Louis, especially as Charles entered into a defensive
agreement with him, in spite of his engagements with
Holland and the fact that he was posing as mediator.
It was therefore easier than it would have been a few
months ago to raise men for France, and George Hamilton's
task, though not a simple one and requiring the utmost
tact and vigilance, was not quite so impossible as it had
seemed at first. He was to raise noo men, 1 and while
Anthony or possibly Richard remained in Toul with the
regiment, 2 he proceeded to England in the end of December
with his usual companion Gramont, 3 and then on alone
to Ireland, returning to France again in April, rather
delayed on account of bad weather but otherwise success-
ful. 4 Recruits kept going to France all through spring,
in spite of protests from the Allies' envoys. 5
What exactly brought Gramont to England again is
not known, but Charles banteringly professed to treat him
as the envoy of the Duke Mazarin and as a pleni-
1676 potentiary charged with negotiating a reconciliation
between the Duke and his wife, the beautiful Hortense
who, according to popular rumour, was about to land in
England. Gramont entered into the spirit of the thing
and with his usual wit and raillery proceeded to act the
part of envoy to that curious monomaniac, and when the
duchess really arrived in England, he assumed a kind of
guardianship over her just as he had on one occasion done
it in the case of the Duke of Buckingham. 6
The campaign of 1676 was not an important one. The
fighting on the sea was more remarkable. Louis with his
army went to Flanders, Conde had retired from active
service, Luxembourg had succeeded Turenne in his com-
mand of the army in Alsace. The Hamiltons were with
1 Bibl. Nat., Pieces Originates, Vol. 1472, No. 19 (a receipt for the neces-
sary funds signed by George Hamilton and dated Dec. n, 1675).
* Guerre, 431, No. 560, Louvois to M. d'Hamilton, capitaine au regt.
d'Hamilton, Dec. 26th, 1675.
8 Aft. Etr., Corr. Pol. Angleterre, 117, f. 107, Ruvigny to Pomponne,
Dec. f, 1675 ; Cal. St. P., Dom., 1675-1676, p. 491.
4 Guerre, 473. No. 59, Louvois to Hamilton, April 3rd, 1676 ; Cal. St. P.,
Dom., 1676-1677, p. 71 ; Essex Papers (Camden, 1913), p. 41.
6 Orlich, Briefe aus England, p. 59.
6 Aif. Etr., Corr. Pol. Angleterre, 117, ff. 107, 115, 117, etc. ; Vol. 118,
i. 19, Ruvigny to Pomponne ; Perwich Papers, p. in.
THE RfiGIMENT D'HAMILTON 63
him, George Hamilton having been made Marechal du
Camp or Major-General in February. 1 The English Parlia-
ment, as we have seen, did not meet this year.
In May Luxembourg was expecting some reinforcements
from Flanders, and, fearing that the Duke of Lorraine might
cut them off from him, he marched to meet them. Near
Saverne Lorraine attacked his rear-guard, commanded by
George Hamilton, but was driven back after a fierce combat,
in which Hamilton and his regiment fought with all possible
bravery, though the Imperialists spread a report that all
the English and Irish in the French service had surrendered.
In the moment of victory George Hamilton fell. 2 This was
on the ist of June, 1676. Pellisson, writing from the
camp of Neer Hasselt, whither he had accompanied Louis
as historiographer royal, describes the universal regret
with which the news of ' Amilton's ' death was received,
and remarks that he has scarcely ever known of a person
on whose merit people were more agreed and who was
praised for such dissimilar qualities great gentleness,
modesty, courage, audacity and firmness. " Le Roi y perd
et le connait bien," he concludes his very sincere apprecia-
tion. 3 Charles and the Duke of York were no less grieved. 4
The Compagnie des Gendarmes Anglais, serving in
Flanders under Louis, was still in George Hamilton's pos-
session, though he had been intending to sell the charge, 5
preferring the regiment which bore his name. 6 It was
now sold and the King ordered La Guette, Hamilton's
successor, to pay the widow 10,000 crowns, and besides
this she was to receive a pension of 2000 crowns. 7
The regiment d'Hamilton, it was supposed, would go
to one of the brothers, 8 but as Charles and the Duke
1 Pinard, Chronologic Militaire, VI, p. 430.
* Gazette, 1676, pp. 433, 456; Guerre, 508, No. 114, Luxembourg to
Louis, June 2nd, 1676.
3 Lettres Historiques, III, p. 112.
4 Orlich, Brief e aus England, p. 58, " Inzwischen wird Mylord Hamilton
. . . seiner sonderbaren Tapferkeit wegen vom Konige und vom Herzoge
von York iiber alle Massen beklagt."
6 Guerre, 375, No. 72, Louvois to Hamilton, Oct. 3rd, 1674.
6 Bibl. Nat., Cabinet des Titres, Vol. 345, dossier bleu Hamilton, f. 39.
7 Pellisson, op. tit., p. 120. AfL Etr., Corr. Pol. Angleterre, 119, f. 48,
Courtin to Pomponne, July , 1676. Gradually Frenchmen were
admitted among the Gendarmes Anglais, and when the company was dis-
banded in 1788 it was entirely French. Fieffe, Troupes Etrangeres, I, p. 174.
8 Hist. MSS. Comm., 4th Report, p. 245.
64 ANTHONY HAMILTON
of York requested Louis to give it to the Lieutenant-
Colonel Dongan, Gustavus Hamilton's old adversary and
no particular friend of the Hamiltons', their wish was
gratified. l
As for poor Lady Hamilton, she was overwhelmed with
grief and distracted with worries. 2 She was left with six
young children. 3 She had no fortune whatever ; the 10,000
crowns she had received for the Gendarmes Anglais were not
sufficient to pay the debts her husband had left. 4 George
Hamilton had been very anxious for his wife to be made
dame du palais like his sister, Madame de Gramont, as then,
he said, he could go away to war with a lighter heart, know-
ing that if he fell, she would be secure in an honourable
appointment, but his request had not been granted. 5 After
Hamilton's death Charles repeatedly urged the Ambassador
Courtin, Ruvigny's successor, to entreat the King his
brother to do all that was possible for the poor widow,
adding that he himself did what he could, but that Courtin
must know how unsatisfactory his ' affairs ' were, and
Courtin, in turn, desired Charles to ' reflect ' on the con-
tinuous and enormous expenses the King, his master, had
to bear. Charles, always liberal where titles were con-
cerned, raised Lady Hamilton to the rank of Baroness of
1 Aff. Etr., Corr. Pol. Angleterre, Vol. 118, f. 178 and Vol. 119, f. 48,
Courtin to Pomponne, June 15 and July 2 (N.S.).
1 Sevigne, IV, p. 507, cf. Hist. MSS. Comm., 4th Report, p. 245.
8 Sevigne, IV, p. 517. One of them died within a year. Guerre, 567,
p. 143, Lady Hamilton to Louvois, October, 1677.
4 Aff. Etr., Corr. Pol. Angleterre, 119, f. 48.
6 The first time the favour was requested for Lady Hamilton the post
was given not to her but to the Marquise de la Vallidre, Louis, however,
giving Charles to understand that he had received the Marchioness because
it had been the last request of Mademoiselle de la Valliere before she retired
to the Carmelite nuns, and that otherwise he would not have taken her ;
as there was no vacancy among the Dames du Palais he had to make one'
by creating an additional post. In 1675 Lauderdale had been sent to
Ruvigny with a letter from Charles to Louis, again urging him to consider
the matter, and the year following, just two months before George Hamil-
ton's death, Ruvigny again reported that the King and Duke of York
desired ' passionately ' that it would please Louis to make Lady Hamilton
a dame du palais, and that he, Ruvigny, had replied that His Most
d'Amilton among the ladies-in-waiting. (Aff. Etr., Corr. Pol. Angleterre,
Vol. 115, pp. 453, 454, Ruvigny to Pomponne, March }, 1675 Vol.
118, f. 6, Pomponne to Ruvigny, April i, 1676, ff. $, Ruvigny to
Pomponne, March f|, 1676.)
THE REGIMENT D 'HAMILTON 65
Ross and Countess of Bantry and Berehaven in Ireland ;*
she remained, however, in Paris till 1679, the m st unhappy
person in the world, she assures Louvois, and harassed by
a thousand creditors. 2 In that year her old lover, Richard
Talbot, appeared on the scene and married her. A few
months before George Hamilton's death Evelyn had seen
her and described her as a ' sprightly young lady/ 3 in spite
of her six children.
The regiment d' Hamilton was now known as the regiment
de Dongan. It is somewhat uncertain whether Anthony
Hamilton continued to serve in the regiment, for the Hamil-
tons bitterly resented Dongan having been preferred to
them. 4 Richard, however, remained. The new colonel
showed great zeal at first, and arrived in England as early
as October to raise men for the next campaign. Parliament
was to meet in February, so the step was a wise one. Courtin
at once hastened to Charles, expressing a hope that, as he
had caused Dongan to be made colonel he would prosper
the work of his hands and that for this it was necessary
to give permission for the raising of recruits. Nothing
could be more characteristic than Charles's answer. " II
m'a repondu en riant," writes the Ambassador to Louis,
" et en mettant la main devant les yeux, les doigts entrou-
verts et m'a dit ' nous scaurons bien faire ce qu'il faudra
la-dessus.' Ainsi je crois la chose en bon chemin si le Vice
Roy d'Irelande ne la traverse pas." 5 Charles gave Dongan
a letter for Essex, the Lord Lieutenant, and as Essex was
' well-intentioned ' all things seem to have gone well. 6 Lord
George Douglas, now Earl of Dumbarton, met with greater
1 " This will procure for Madame d' Hamilton the following advan-
tages," Courtin explains to Pomponne with the French regard for etiquette,
" she will be styled cousin when she comes here, she will be allowed to
enter the Queen's coach, the Queen will rise when she arrives and embrace
her, and when she leaves she may hope for some pension on the Irish
Establishment." (Ib., Vol. 119, ff. 48, 49, July . Cf. CaL St. P.,
Dom., 1676-1677, p. 210 ; 1677-1678, pp. 236-254.)
2 Guerre, 567, p. 143, Lady Hamilton to Louvois, October, 1677.
8 Diary, II, p. 387.
4 Hist. MSS. Comm., Ormonde MSS., N.S., VII, p. 85.
5 Aff. Etr., Corr. Pol. Angleterre, 120, ff. 74, 75, Courtin to Louis, "^
Oct., 1676.
6 Ib. ,f. 8 5, Courtin to Pomponne, Oct. ^, 1676; Guerre, 513, No. 114,
Dongan to Louvois, Dublin, Oct. 3ist, 1676, and Vol. 543, No. i, Courtin
to Louvois, Feb. ist, 1677, No. 23, the same to the same, Feb. 4th, 1677 ;
Essex Papers (Camden, 1913), p. 119. It was given out that the men were
being shipped to Virginia.
66 ANTHONY HAMILTON
difficulties in Scotland. Parliament was not yet sitting,
but the Envoys of Spain and the Republic were ever on the
alert. 1
The year 1677 was fortunate to the French arms. Louis
took town after town in Flanders, and Monsieur, his brother,
defeated William at Cassel. Crequy, who com-
1677 manded the eastern army, captured Fribourg in
November after a skilful campaign. The regiment
de Dongan had spent the winter of 1676-1677 under one
of the Hamiltons at Vitry and Saint Dizier, where its dis-
orderly behaviour again called forth reproaches from
Louvois. 2 It served on the Rhine and the Moselle that
year along with Douglas's and Monmouth's regiments and
was present at the taking of Fribourg, 3 but after the death
of George Hamilton it is rarely mentioned in the Gazette
or the despatches. The fact is that Dongan and the younger
Hamiltons were not equal in leadership to George Hamilton,
and there is little to be said about Richard Hamilton for the
next few years, and Anthony disappears almost altogether.
In the autumn of 1677 Dongan went as usual to Ireland
to see to his recruits while the regiment was left in Richard
Hamilton's charge. All of a sudden, in December, Dongan
and the officers in England and Scotland were ordered by
Louvois to return at once to France. The reason is to be
sought in the extraordinarily fluctuating and complicated
relations existing between England and France. Parlia-
ment had met in February, 1677, and watched with growing
consternation the progress of the French. Nothing would
have pleased it better than war with France. Amongst
other matters it passed, 4 of course, a Bill for the recalling
of His Majesty's natural born subjects out of the French
service, yet the Bill had no effect whatever, and more and
bitter complaints were made by the Dutch and Spanish
Ambassadors. 5 All this was nothing new and repeated
itself year after year ; orders to raise the above recruits
were given as usual by Louvois, who had, moreover, an
1 Cf. especially Guerre, Vols. 542 and 543.
2 Guerre, 481, Nos. 41 and 531, Louvois to Hamilton (Anthony or
Richard ?), Dec. gih and 3oth, 1676.
3 Fieffe, Troupes Etrangeres, I, p. 225 ; Quincy, Histoire Militaire,
Ordre de Bataille, facing p. 545, Vol. I.
* On the 2oth of May(O.S.); Cf. Commons Journal, IX, pp. 385, 387
400, 401, 426 ; Grey, IV, pp. 98, 133-134, 256, 259, 361, 388.
6 CaL St. P., Dom., 1677-1678, pp. 278, 341.
THE RfiGIMENT D'HAMILTON 67
additional reason for security in the fact that Charles, left
without subsidies by his own Parliament which he had
adjourned for presuming to control foreign alliances, had
accepted a huge subsidy from France in return for which
Parliament, adjourned to January, was not to meet till
April.
But things did not remain thus favourable to France.
Danby prevailed upon Charles to arrange a marriage
solemnized in November between William and James's
eldest daughter Mary. Everything pointed to an Anglo-
Dutch alliance. The proposals for peace which came from
England and Holland having been haughtily rejected by
France, an agreement between England and Holland
1678 was signed on January 10. Parliament was to
meet after all in January. War between England
and France seemed not improbable.
This, however, was a thing which Louis was determined
to avoid, and amongst other measures of precaution he
ordered the immediate stopping of recruiting, anxious, he
said, not to furnish the English Ministers with the slightest
legitimate pretext for bringing about a union between
England and the Allies. The order was repeated several
times. All officers in the French service were to have left
England before Parliament met. 1 Another reason was
that he did not wish to spend any more than he could help
on regiments that might now be recalled at any time, 2 and,
indeed, their recall was made public in the middle of
January. 3 Charles was, however, very anxious that Louis
should not look upon this as a sign of rupture, and with
his usual duplicity requested the Ambassador Barillon to
write and assure Louis of his goodwill. 4 A week later he
spoke again to Barillon ' very gently ' on the subject of the
return of the troops, excusing himself by saying that he
was obliged to show his subjects that he was preparing for
war ; and added that, as far as he was concerned, he was
not hastening the return of the regiments. 5 Louis merely
answered that he intended to keep to the agreement,
1 Guerre, 534, pp. 184, 250, 260, Louvois to Barillon, Dec. i8th, 1677,
Jan. 5th and ioth, 1678.
2 Ib., p. 221.
3 Cal. St. P., Dom., 1677-1678, p. 563.
4 Guerre, 584, p. 22, Barillon to Louvois, Jan. 24th, 1678.
6 Guerre, 585, f. 21, the same to the same, Feb. 3rd, 1678.
68 ANTHONY HAMILTON
according to which the men were not to return until
thirty days after war had been openly declared. 1
Meanwhile these regiments were watched with great
distrust in France, 2 and measures were taken to prevent
their doing anything prejudicial to the French service, but
in spite of incessant complaints from the Duke of York
and the Duke of Monmouth and even from Charles, they
were not allowed to go until it pleased Louis to have them
cashiered a different thing from sending them back
formally to Charles Royal Anglais (horse) in April, 3 the
services of its colonel, Lanier, having given Louvois dissatis-
faction, and Royal Anglais (foot), or Monmouth, and Douglas
in July on account of their insolent behaviour. 4 The dis-
missal of the last two regiments caused Charles as much
displeasure as their enforced stay had given him earlier in
the year. The very uncertain relations between France
and England, as represented by Louis and Charles, had
alternated between marked hostility and offers of alliance,
and the above affair took place at a time when there seemed
once more a good understanding between the kings. Louvois'
explanation that the order dated from a period of enmity
hardly pacified Charles, who was again drifting to an
alliance with the Dutch. The signing of a treaty with the
Dutch in July, a treaty to force Louis to make peace, may
have been hastened on in part by the cashiering of the
regiments, since Charles argued that the lack of considera-
tion shown the English proved that the French were con-
templating war with him. 5
As for the regiment de Dongan, being a Catholic regiment,
it was treated with marked favour and consideration at
a time when the English and Scottish regiments were
objects of suspicion. Dongan himself, it is true, had for-
feited Louvois' goodwill by showing little inclination to
side with France and spreading reports in England that he
1 Guerre, 534, pp. 708-709, Louvois to Barillon, April i6th, 1678.
* Guerre, 534, passim.
3 Guerre, 534, p. 671, Louvois to Duras, April loth, 1678. Cf. Vol. 585,
f. 58, Duras to Louvois, Feb. 8th.
4 Guerre, 582, f. 223, Louvois to Barillon, July I3th, 1678 ; 588, p. 49,
Barillon to Louvois, July i8th, 1678 ; pp. 118-119, Duras to Louvois,
July 22nd, 1678.
5 Guerre, 582, ff. 146, 240, 256, Louvois to Barillon, June I9th, July i8th
and 23rd, 1678 ; Vol. 588, p. 49, Barillon to Louvois, July i8th; Orlich,
Briefe aus England, pp. 284, 292, 308.
THE RfiGIMENT D'HAMILTON 69
was being ill-treated in France and that the pay which
was due to him was not forthcoming. 1 Moreover, the
officers of his regiment complained of the way in which he
was managing, or rather mismanaging, the regiment's 2
finances. The command was therefore taken from him in
April and bestowed on the Lieutenant -Colonel, Richard
Hamilton, the King, Louvois said, being aware of his merit. 3
The fact that Richard was second in command 4 leads one
to believe that Anthony, who had been one of George
Hamilton's chief officers, was no longer in the French army,
or at any rate in the regiment d' Hamilton. He seems to
have left France just about this time. 5 Richard Hamilton
accepted the command, making it, however, very clear that
it was on condition that he and his men might leave the
country in the event of war with England. He was quar-
tered at Aix for a short time with his regiment, and M. de
Grignan, Madame de Sevigne's son-in-law, who was respon-
sible for this garrison, after having known him only a fort-
night, reported to Louvois that the Sieur d'Amilton had a
thousand good qualities and applied himself very closely
to the discharge of his duties. Later on in summer he and
his regiment joined the Marechal de Navailles in Roussillon. 6
After lengthy discussions and negotiations peace was
signed between France and the Republic on the loth of
August at Nimeguen. In December Louis, who was re-
ducing the number of his troops, disbanded the regiment
d'Hamilton, and though a number of the men were drafted
into the German regiment de Fiirstenberg, not a few of the
poor Irish soldiers roamed about the country in extreme
poverty. 7 Richard Hamilton fared better than they; for,
1 Guerre, 534, pp. 708-709, Louvois to Barillon, April i6th, 1678.
* Guerre, 597, No. 144, Richard Hamilton to Louvois, April 6th, 1678.
3 Guerre, 573, Nos. 88 and 236, Louvois to Hamilton, April loth and
1 5th, 1678.
4 And a Sieur de Lacy third in command. He was made Lieut. -Col. in
Richard Hamilton's place. Guerre, 574, p. 78 ; Hist. MSS. Comm., 7th
Report, Appendix, p. 3350.
6 Sevigne, V, p. 434.
6 Guerre, 597, pp. 73, 195, Grignan to Louvois, March 23rd and April
1 5th, 1678 ; p. 196, Richard Hamilton to Louvois, April i5th, 1678 ;
Vol. 534, p. 738, Louvois to Hamilton, April 23rd, 1678 ; Vol. 567, p. 697,
Louvois to Navailles, April i4th, 1678 ; Vol. 587, p. 194, Navailles to
Louvois, June 2oth, 1678.
7 Fieffe, Troupes Etrangeres, I, p. 175 ; Hist. MSS. Comm., 4th Report,
p. 242.
7 o ANTHONY HAMILTON
in exchange, he received the command of the regiment de
Navailles which had become vacant through the death of
the Marquis de Navailles' only son, the Marquis de Mon-
taut. 1 Madame de Gramont attributed the dismissal of
the regiment to jealousy and intrigues in England. 2
He commanded this regiment for six years, up till 1685. 3
Unfortunately, hardly anything is known about him during
this period, but it seems that he was respected and beloved
in his French regiment. 4 On the strength of a statement
of Louvois' quoted by Macaulay, 5 viz. " si c'est celui qui
est sorti de France le dernier qui s'appeloit Richard, il
n'a jamais vu de siege, ayant toujours servi en RoussiDon,"
the Dictionary of National Biography and other authorities
say that Richard Hamilton's service in France was accom-
plished in the regiment of Royal Roussillon. Louvois, with
his r memory for all things relating to his administration,
could not have forgotten that Hamilton had served in the
regiments, Hamilton, Dongan and Navailles ; he seems to
mean here that from the time Hamilton had a regiment of
his own, he was stationed in the south of France, and, as a
matter of fact, the regiment de Navailles, now styled
regiment d'Hamilton, did serve mainly in Roussillon, yet,
under Hamilton, it took part in the war waged against
Spain in the Low Countries, was present at the siege of
Luxembourg in 1864 and was commended for its valour. 6
Louvois, as will be shown later on, had no particular
affection for the Hamiltons, and was quite capable of
deliberate falsehood, if it suited his purpose. His ill-will
possibly dates from 1678, when Madame de Gramont,
a haughty and imperious woman, upbraided him somewhat
unreasonably in the Queen's chamber for not advancing
one of the younger Hamiltons to the rank of brigadier. 7
Mercure Galant, Jan., 1679, p. 301.
Hist. MSS. Comm., Ormonde MSS., N.S., VII, p. 85.
Susane, Histoire de I'Infanterie Franfaise, IV, p. 384.
Hist. MSS. Comm., Ormonde MSS., N.S., VII, p. 85.
History of England, III, 198 n.
Susane, Histoire de I'Infanterie Franfaise, IV, p. 385, where he is
wrongly called Antoine ; Gazette de France, 1684, p. 348 ; Dangeau, I, p. 22.
7 Bussy, Correspondance , IV, pp. 22-24. Madame de Scud6ry, who
relates this to Bussy, fears that Louvois will make the Countess suffer for
the slight she has put upon him. Bussy replies characteristically, " Le
Comte ni la Comtesse de Gramont ne se soucient gure de Louvois, car tout
ce qu'il peut leur faire de mal, c'est de ne pas avancer quelqu'un de leurs
parents, et le Comte de Gramont lui peut donner des bottes aupres du roi."
THE RfiGIMENT D'HAMILTON 71
Hamilton's friends continued to think that he did not
advance well enough in his service, without considering
that in a period of relative calm promotion could not be
very rapid, so Charles wrote in his favour to Louvois in
1683, adding by way of inducement that the relatives of
Colonel Richard Hamilton, who had urged him to do this,
were the two greatest families of Scotland and Ireland. 1
The letter, however, had no effect.
In January, 1681, there was danced before Louis at
Saint Germain en Laye a ballet of Quinault's, entitled " le
Triomphe de 1' Amour." In the nineteenth entree
1681 figured the Dauphine as Flora, some ladies of high
rank as nymphs, the Dauphin, the Prince de la
Roche sur Yon, several other gentlemen and the Comte
d'Hamilton as Zephyrs. 2 From Walpole onwards, who
first mentions the fact in his edition of the Memoires de
Grammont, this Comte d'Hamilton is supposed to have
been Anthony. But Anthony seems to have left France
for good in 1678. In the summer of 1681 he was definitely
established at Dublin, and was now, as the eldest survivor,
one of the heads of his family, his father having died in 1679
and his mother in 1680. He took a lease of his uncle's
property of Nenagh, but succeeded no better than in the
army, and, after the manner of the Hamiltons, was beset
with endless financial difficulties. " Anthony is absconded,
there being many writs out against him/' remarks his
cousin, the Earl of Arran, on one occasion ; he believes
Anthony has betaken himself to England, away from his
numerous creditors. Later on, when certain regiments
returned to Ireland in 1684 after the evacuation of Tangier,
Ormonde, always a faithful friend to his sister's family and,
moreover, fond of Hamilton, whom he describes as a valued
relation, resolved that ' Tony ' was to have one of the
vacant captaincies, but for some reason or other, probably
on account of Ormonde's ceasing to be Lord Lieutenant,
Tony Hamilton was never appointed. 3
1 Hist. MSS. Comm., Ormonde MSS., First Series, I, p. 35.
2 Dictionnaire des Theatres (Paris, 1756), V, p. 538. Richard is occa-
sionally styled le Comte d'Hamilton, e.g. Sourches, I, p. 256, Depping,
Correspondance Administrative, II, p. xxxviii.
3 Hist. MSS. Comm., Ormonde MSS., N.S., V, pp. 557, 613 ; VI, p. 71 ;
VII, pp. 2, 3, 12, 250. Seventh Report, Appendix, p. 7446, and a letter
from Anthony Hamilton, dated August 10 (1681), a copy of which I owe
to the kindness of the Marquis of Ormonde.
72 ANTHONY HAMILTON
It would thus seem that the above Count Hamilton was
Richard, who, besides, more amiable than Anthony and
with a more winning manner, was much more of a
1685 courtier than Anthony ever was. In fact, his assiduity
at court brought his downfall. Louvois remarked
to him one day in 1685 that he was not satisfied with
him, because his regiment was not as it ought to be. Hamil-
ton replied that with the exception of a few companies the
regiment was in quite a good condition, and were it in an
unsatisfactory state he was not the person to be blamed,
by which he meant that the Inspectors, who at that time
were almighty in the army, were to be held responsible.
Louvois understood the implication and said that all
colonels had sufficient authority to enable them to look
after their regiments, to which Hamilton haughtily made
answer that he saw his services were no longer agreeable
to the King, and that since the Duke of York had become
king he would go and serve him ; he knew whence he had
come and knew well whither to return. Louvois retorted
that the King retained no man against his will in his service,
and at once went and reported the conversation to Louis,
who, highly incensed, told Hamilton he might instantly
return to England, and had it not been for the sake of his
sister, the Comtesse de Gramont, he would have straight-
way sent him to the Bastille. He allowed him, however,
to sell his regiment that he might pay his debts, and, with
some trouble, Hamilton disposed of it to the Marquis de
Jarze.
The well-informed gave out that his disgrace was due to
his having found favour in the sight of a high-born lady
who was none other than Louis' daughter, the Princesse
de Conti. When he returned to France, an exile, after the
battle of the Boyne, the wits made up a chanson which says
not a little for the personal charms of Richard Hamilton.
Roche Guyon, Albergoti,
Vous allez reperdre ces dames,
Vous ne plairez plus Conti,
Villeroy n'aura plus de charmes,
Adieu, pauvres amours, et La Chatre et Tracy,
Richard revient ici. 1
Two or three days before he left Paris, in disgrace, a curious
thing happened. Richard Hamilton and his friend, the
1 Bibl. Nat. MS. fr. 12690, p. 426.
THE RfiGIMENT D'HAMILTON 73
Marquis d'Alincourt, having dined not wisely but too well,
walked in the gardens of the Palais Royal. Meeting four
bretteurs, d'Alincourt hailed them derisively, and they
replied in no ambiguous fashion. Hamilton threatened
them, one of them dealt him a blow in the face, and in a
moment the two noblemen had drawn their swords. But
being two against four they had to call for help, and the
affair coming to Louis' ears, he was exceedingly annoyed
by such disorderly behaviour in the Palais Royal gardens.
The well-informed again offered another explanation ; the
encounter with the bretteurs, they said, was only a story
invented to cover up a fight that had taken place between
Hamilton and d'Alincourt, because they both loved the
same great lady. 1
Be that as it may, Richard Hamilton left many friends
at the French court. The annotator of the Memoir es de
Sourches he, by the way, is as little known as Sourches
himself describes Hamilton as very brave, gallant, hand-
some and kind-hearted, and remarks that there was no one
at court who did not regret his departure. 2
1 Dangeau, I, pp. 131, 137, 146; Sourches, I, pp. 188-189, 203;
Depping, Cor respondance Administrative sous Louis XIV (Paris, 1851), II,
p. xxxviii.
Madame de Lafayette, Memoires de la Cour de France, p. 252, relates :
" On 1'avait chasse de la cour parce qu'il s'etoit rendu amoureux de la
Princesse de Conty, fille du Roy, et qu'il paroissoit qu'elle aimoit bien
mieux lui parler qu'a un autre."
z Sourches, I, p. 188 n.
CHAPTER VI
1685-1692
THE HAMILTONS AND THE WAR IN IRELAND
ATTHONY and Richard Hamilton had lived more
or less in exile during the reign of Charles. With
the accession of James and the changed situa-
tion of the Catholics they began to take part
in the public life of their country. Richard had hardly
arrived in England when James appointed him colonel of
a regiment of dragoons which he was to raise there. 1
1685 The regiment arrived in Ireland in the autumn
of 1685, and the Lord Lieutenant, Clarendon, who
saw it a year later, describes it as very fine. 2 Anthony also
took service in Ireland as Sir Thomas Newcomen's Lieu-
tenant-Colonel in his regiment of foot. 3 John, the youngest
brother, was lieutenant in Lord Mount joy's regiment. 4
The husband of George Hamilton's widow, Dick Talbot,
was given a regiment in Ireland, to the great displeasure of
the Protestants, who said that this was advancing Popery
and destroying the Protestant religion. 6 A bounty of 200
was granted both to Anthony and to Richard Hamilton,
and a bounty of 100 to Thomas Hamilton, 6 the fourth of
the six Hamilton brothers (but the second of the four
brothers living), who, at the time, rendered James no small
service in capturing, off the west coast of Scotland, some
1 Hist. MSS. Comm., Report on the MSS. of the Earl of Egmont, VI, 1 55 .
* Clarendon Correspondence, II, pp. 1-2, cf. p. 4.
3 Hist. MSS. Comm., i4th Report, App., Part VII (Ormonde MSS., I),
p. 409. The Army List for March, 1684-1685 (p. 404) contains neither the
names of Anthony nor Richard Hamilton. Anthony's name is first given
in the Army List for September, 1685 (p. 409), and Richard's in the Army
List for March, 1685-1686 (p. 415).
4 Ib., p. 404.
6 Campana di Cavelli, II, p. 39.
6 Secret Service Money (Camden), pp. 104, 116, 123.
74
THE HAMILTONS AND THE WAR IN IRELAND 75
of the ships which the Earl of Argyle had equipped to aid
Monmouth in his rising. 1
From 1686 onwards Richard Hamilton was a member
of the Irish Privy Council, and in the beginning of the
same year was made Brigadier when Tyrconnel
1686 was made Lieutenant-General and Justin Macarthy
Major-General. 2 Anthony, though his senior, was
in a subordinate position as Lieutenant-Colonel ; he was,
however, appointed Governor of Limerick in 1685, in place
of the Protestant Governor, Sir William King, who was
deposed, and his company was quartered in Limerick. The
new Governor went publicly to Mass, an event unheard of
since 1650. A Catholic was substituted for the Protestant
Mayor, twelve Roman Catholic merchants were made free
of the Common Council of Limerick, and Mass was said in
the Citadel, whither the Army marched every Sunday in
order, with drums and hautboys, a thing which had not
been done for the last forty years. The new regime was
emphasized in every possible way. The appointment was
1 Thomas Hamilton had commanded successively the Deptford Ketch,
the Nightingale, the Mermaid, the Constant Warwick, the Mary Rose, the
Charles Galley, the Dragon and finally, on this occasion, the Kingfisher.
Part of his service had been accomplished in the Mediterranean, where he
had captured a very large Algerine ship of war. (Cf. Biographia Navalis,
I, pp. 310-312, where he is partly confused with his brother James Hamil-
ton ; Bodleian Library, MS. Rawl, A. 181, f. no; Ormonde MSS., N.S.,
V, p. 326 ; VII, p. 160.)
Argyle, returning from Holland, had taken possession of the castle of
Ellengreg (Hamilton calls it Elandgray) on the West of Scotland, off the
Kyles of Bute, had fortified it, as well as time and circumstances would
permit, intending it as his ' grand magazine and place of final retreat,' and
had left it in charge of some of his men. Thomas Hamilton, who com-
manded the small squadron of ships ordered off to the West of Scotland,
sailed up to the castle, intending to drive out the men. The latter, how-
ever, did not await his arrival, but ran their ships aground and abandoned
the castle, after having set ' 4 or 5 inches of match ' to a barrel of powder
' where there was 5 or 600 barrels more.' Hamilton, having been warned
at once, managed to prevent the explosion taking place, and secured the
powder, as well as arms and ammunition, on board Argyle's ships, enough,
he said, to arm 30,000 men. The spoil taken included " armes of a new
invention, w th double barrels and a dagger to fly out beyond the muzzle,
and a great many books printed to bublish (sic.) upon ocasion setting forth
y e reasons of Argyle's landing . . . two stands of colours, the one blew
w 411 a white cross on w ch was writt, ' God forward us,' the other white with
a black cross in w ch was writ, ' From popery, herecy and seism, deliver us.'
(R.O. St. P., Ireland, 1685, Thomas Hamilton to Lord Granard, June i6th,
1685 ; The Ex" of Francis Warter, cap. of y e Arran yacht, Hist. MSS.
Comm., i2th Report, App., Part XII, p. 17 ; Sourches, I, p. 263.)
2 Hist. MSS. Comm., Ormonde MSS., First Series, I, p. 415 ; II, p. 386*
Clarendon Correspondence, I, pp. 343, 400.
76 ANTHONY HAMILTON
not, however, of long duration, for in 1687, or earlier,
Anthony Hamilton was succeeded by Sir John Fitzgerald,
also a Roman Catholic. 1
Richard stood exceedingly well with the Commander-in
Chief of the Irish Army and the real director of Irish
affairs, Talbot, or rather Tyrconnel, as he should now be
called ; very much less favour was shown to Anthony, who
seems to have been of a more quiet and retiring disposition ;
on the other hand, Clarendon, who had no great love for
Richard, speaks very kindly of Anthony Hamilton, and
describes him as a man who understands the regiment
better than the Colonel, ' for he makes it his business/ 2
His Colonel, Sir Thomas Newcomen, it may be added, was
not an easy man to live with, false and treacherous in the
highest degree, according to Clarendon, and hated beyond
words. 3
Possibly Anthony Hamilton's relatively subordinate
position was due to the fact that he did not enter into
Tyrconnel's plans with the necessary zest and zeal, for,
Catholic though he was, Anthony did not share his brother's
and Tyrconnel's enthusiasm for the remodelling of the
Irish Army on a Catholic basis which threw so many men
out of employment. He admitted to Clarendon that he
was ' in great trouble ' on account of these reforms, especially
as they took place in his regiment. Men, he said, were put
out of that regiment who were as good men as were in the
world, and he did not think so of those who replaced them.
Every one of the officers whom he particularly recom-
mended to Tyrconnel and to Newcomen were made to leave,
and their successors, he considered, were not likely to bring
honour to the service. 4 This, at least, is Clarendon's story,
and Clarendon, sore from the daily slights to which he is
subjected, cannot disguise his pleasure at the dissensions
that are manifesting themselves in the opposing camp.
1 Ferrar, Limerick, pp. 39-40; Lenihan, Limerick, pp. 210-211.
Ferrar's Limerick was published in 1767, but the fact of Anthony's receiv-
ing the government of Limerick is mentioned as early as 1731 in the
biographical sketch, prefixed to all old editions of the Memoires de Gram-
mont, and printed for the first time in the 1731 edition of La Haye. Hist.
MSS. Comm., Ormonde MSS., First Series, I (i4th Report, Appendix,
Part VII), p. 409.
* Clarendon Correspondence, I, p. 423.
8 Ib., I, p. 218.
/$., I, p. 421,
THE HAMILTONS AND THE WAR IN IRELAND 77
Richard, it would seem, was responsible for a great many
of the men discharged. Tyrconnel, it was said, gave him
a free hand and sent orders to the Captains to put out such
men as Hamilton should mark. 1 In no regiment was the
substitution carried to such an extent as in Sir Thomas
Newcomen's ; in September, 1685, out of a total of 850
soldiers and non-commissioned officers 102 were Catholics ;
about a year later their number had increased to 72 1. 2
And so Anthony Hamilton lived through another year
of a life that was never very successful or very happy ;
out of sympathy with his relatives, in a subordinate position
at which he chafed, changes of which he heartily disapproved
undoing his efforts to make the regiment efficient, struggling
for promotion which, when it came, excited jealousy, he was
beset with all the inevitable difficulties of a transition period.
Clarendon, not displeased that one of the Catholic party
and a connexion of Tyrconnel's should owe something of
his advancement to him, recommended him warmly for a
colonelcy and a Privy Councillorship, 3 and when, in the
early autumn of 1686, Anthony obtained permission to go
and plead his cause in England, Clarendon wrote in his
behalf to the Earl of Rochester, his brother, desiring him
to advance Hamilton's claims in any way he could. " He
is a very worthy man," is Clarendon's verdict, " and of
great honour, and will retain a just sense of any kindness
you shall do to him ; he has been in very good employments
and esteem when he served abroad, and men of honour
cannot always brook the having little men put over their
heads who in the judgment of all the world are not equal
to their stations. This gentleman has lived as he ought to
do towards me, which I cannot say of everybody here ;
I would therefore be glad he should receive some counte-
nance, if it were possible, upon my account." 4 In October
a report came from England that Hamilton was to be given
a certain Colonel Russell's regiment, 5 but whether this was
the particular regiment Anthony Hamilton received is not
1 Ib., p. 436.
2 Hist. MSS. Comrn., Ormonde MSS., First Series, I, p. 426. According
to another estimate (ib. and p. 434) out of 780 privates, 663 were Catholics,
viz. 85 per cent, a larger percentage than in any other regiment.
3 Clarendon Correspondence, I, pp. 488-489.
4 Ib., I, p. 533-
5 Ib., Vol. II, p. 38.
78 ANTHONY HAMILTON
known. In January, 1687, he was still a Lieutenant-
Colonel with a pay of 200, but the first commission for
a colonelcy delivered in Ireland after Tyrconnel's becoming
Lord Lieutenant was Anthony Hamilton's. This was in
February of the same year, and in 1688, the year following,
he was certainly commanding a regiment of foot which
went by his name. Towards the end of 1686 he had also
been made one of the Privy Councillors. 1
As for Richard Hamilton, he does not appear in an
altogether estimable light at this period, and one cannot
wonder if Clarendon had his misgivings with regard to this
officer who had served all his life in France, and, leaving
in disgrace, now suddenly assumed control with Tyrconnel
and Macarthy over the Irish army, discharged whom he
would, and, with the complacency born of sudden elevation
showed him but scant deference. Moreover, on one of his
visits to England Hamilton did not act in an altogether
upright way over against Clarendon, if Clarendon may be
believed, and there is no reason to doubt his story. An
arrangement had been made in the Irish army according
to which a certain sum was deducted from the men's pay
for their clothing. When Richard Hamilton came to take
leave of Clarendon, he told him that some men complained
they had only ninepence a week subsistence money on
account of the great deductions. Clarendon assured him
that this was impossible, as no deductions had yet been
made, " which he seemed a little startled at in regard of
my being so positive," and offered to satisfy him by giving
particulars, but Hamilton declined, replied evasively when
Clarendon asked what men had been complaining, went
to England and related that the men at Coleraine had
only ninepence a week, and his complaint was transmitted
back to Clarendon. Further, Justin Macarthy, the Major-
General, wrote to Hamilton that the army was in such
want of subsistence that, by the living God ! they should
all be ruined, which letter Hamilton circulated, though
Clarendon remarked that there was not a man in Ireland
but who could prove the falsehood of the statement. He
called Macarthy to account ; Macarthy professed great
amazement, said that if he were to be crucified he could
1 Dalton, English Army Lists and Commission Registers, Vol. II, p. 221 ;
D' Alton, King James' Irish Army List, I, p. 10 ; Ellis Correspondence I
p. 226 ; Archdall Lodge, Peerage of Ireland, V, p. 119
THE HAMILTONS AND THE WAR IN IRELAND 79
not remember what he had written, that it was strange
he should write the army would be ruined for want of sub-
sistence, since he knew they had subsistence and, after
some more lame excuses, exclaimed, " Lord, if Dick Hamilton
has showed all my letter he has made brave work ; for I
wrote a great deal of stuff in that letter concerning Madam
Mazarine and other people." 1
As Clarendon remarked, he had little cause to believe
these two gentlemen his friends ; their thinly veiled dis-
regard foreshadowed what was coming in February, 1687,
Clarendon received his letters of recall. The charge of
the government was now given to Tyrconnel, who already
controlled the army ; leaving London, accompanied by
his wife and Anthony and Richard Hamilton, 2 he proceeded
to Dublin to assume his new duties as Lord Lieutenant.
The Hamiltons could count on further promotion. About
this time Richard's regiment of Dragoons was given to
the Lieutenant-Colonel, John Butler, a cousin of the
Hamiltons', and in exchange, Richard received a regiment
of horse. 3
The clouds were gathering slowly but surely on the
horizon. When the Prince of Wales was born in the year
following, Louis despatched Gramont as his envoy,
1688 but Gramont came not merely as the witty and
brilliant courtier, charged with the King's com-
pliments ; he carried with him very definite secret instruc-
tions from Louis according to which he was to find out
exactly what measures James was taking against a possible
attack from the Prince of Orange, what was the strength
of the army and navy, the condition of the strongholds,
the disposition of the commanding officers ; further, he
was to discover who were the leaders of the party opposed
to the King and the Catholic religion ; he was, if possible,
to enter into conversation with them, and, using his ' in-
sinuating manners/ to get some knowledge of their plans
1 Clarendon Correspondence. II, pp. 34, 35, 48, 58, 61, 62, 85, 93, 100,
130, etc. Clarendon afterwards discovered that Sir Thomas Newcomen
had deducted a sum of money from his regiment, and that in another
regiment the officers had not been honest in paying their men, but in
both these cases the state of affairs was due to the officers and not
to any mismanagement on the part of Clarendon, as was implied by his
detractors.
2 Bishop Cartwright, Diary (Camden), p. 26.
3 Dalton, English Army List, II, p. 95.
80 ANTHONY HAMILTON
and of the means by which they proposed to get the better
of James. 1
For Louis was much more aware of the peril than James
was or professed to be. " While tempests were on all hands
gathering round King James, he interested himself only
in reconciling the King of France with the holy see and
in the fate of a war against the infidels." 2 When Gramont
returned in September with a present of a thousand guineas, 3
he reported, so Dangeau at least relates, that all was quiet
in England, in spite of the Prince of Orange showing some
inclination to sail to England with his fleet. 4
In August, however, James, no longer sure of his own
army, had brought over 3000 soldiers from Ireland, in
spite of warnings from his friends ; amongst these troops,
whose arrival occasioned such murmurs and discontent,
were Anthony Hamilton's regiment of foot, the regiment
of dragoons Richard had raised and the regiment of horse
that Richard was commanding at the time. The Dutch
warships approached the English coast in the first days
of November. Four regiments of horse commanded by
Arran, the Hamiltons' cousin, Sir John Lanier, who had been
at the head of the cavalry regiment Royal in France, Colonel
Conner and Richard Hamilton, were sent to Ipswich and
three other regiments to Colchester, but the Prince of
Orange passed westward and landed at Torbay. It after-
wards transpired that Lanier had resolved to declare for
the Prince of Orange, had he landed at Ipswich, and had
agreed with the other officers to secure Richard Hamilton
and the two other colonels. 5
On the 1 2th of November Richard Hamilton was
appointed Major-General over all the forces. 6 Englishmen,
even unto the newly appointed Lieutenant-General
Churchill, were joining the Prince of Orange on all sides.
On December gth the Queen and the Prince of Wales
were sent to France ; James, attempting to join them
1 AfL Etr., Corr. Pol. Angleterre, 165, flE. 382, 383. The text in full is
given on p. 284 infra (Appendix V). Gramont had already been once to
England in the reign of James II, viz. in 1685. Dangeau, I, p. 156.
2 Dalrymple, Memoirs, II, p. 185.
3 Secret Service Money (Camden), p. 267.
4 Dangeau, II, p. 156.
6 Dalton, English Army List, II, p. 221 ; Macpherson, Original Papers,
I, pp. 158, 159.
6 Dalton, op. cit., p. 200.
THE HAMILTONS AND THE WAR IN IRELAND 81
next day, was taken, brought back to London, then evicted
from Whitehall and sent to Rochester. Only five persons
of distinction accompained him in the barge that took
him to Gravesend, Lord Arran, Lord Litchfield, Lord
Dumbarton, who had commanded in France as ' Milord
Douglas/ Lord Aylesbury and Richard Hamilton. As
James was rowed down the Thames he reflected, as well
he might, on the instability of all human things, and how
from amongst twelve millions of subjects he had only five
friends to attend him. 1 From Rochester James was finally
able to make good his escape, leaving England for ever
on the 23rd of December (O.S.).
Anthony Hamilton's regiment was disbanded by the
Prince of Orange, along with some other regiments. Richard
was a kind of prisoner of war, and his men were kept for
some time in the Isle of Wight ; finally the regiment was
incorporated in the English army, where it figures to-day
as the 5th Dragoon Guards. 2 Meanwhile, trouble had
broken out in Ireland, Deny and Enniskillen had closed
their gates ; and though five-sixths of the country was
Roman Catholic, yet the Protestant settlers were deter-
mined to hold out in the interest of William, who hardly
yet realized the gravity of the resistance in Ireland. He
did not go there in person, but John Temple, Sir William
Temple's son, was assured that if Richard Hamilton were
sent to Ireland with advantageous proposals, Tyrconnel
would deliver up the kingdom and the expense of
1689 sending men would be saved. 3 " Hamilton was
a papist," says Burnet, " but was believed to be a
man of honour, and he had certainly great credit with
Tyrconnel." 4 He was accordingly charged with the mission
and promised that he would either negotiate an understand-
ing with Tyrconnel or return to England. His return was
awaited anxiously, 5 but they might expect him long in
England ; when Hamilton did actually return it was as
a prisoner of war two years later.
1 Dalrymple, Memoirs, II, p. 247.
8 Dalton, op. cit., p. 13 ; Burnet, History of his Own Times, III,
PP- 371-372.
3 Hatton Correspondence, II, p. 133.
4 Burnet, op. cit., ib. ; Foxcroft's Supplement to Burnet, p. 306. Cf . H. C.
Foxcroft, Life of Halifax (London, 1898), Vol. II, p. 211.
8 Hist. MSS. Comm., i4th Report, Appendix, Part II, p. 422.
G
82 ANTHONY HAMILTON
The case of Hamilton's desertion was investigated in
August. A certain Major Done declared that he had been
in Dublin in January and, hearing that a vessel had arrived
from England, he went to see who the passengers were.
He counted seventy men in red coats, and amongst them
Colonel Richard Hamilton together with eleven other
officers. The Colonel, whom he knew well, went with
several others to a tavern, and from the next room he,
Done, heard their conversation plainly. After salutations
the Colonel broke into loud laughter, saying he could not
forbear it, thinking how finely he had shammed the Prince
of Orange into a belief that he had interest and inclination
enough to prevail with Tyrconnel to lay down the sword
and to submit to him. Colonel Dempsey, who had come
to congratulate him, replied, " What interest could you
have in the Prince or how got you it, to persuade the Prince
to believe you ? " Hamilton answered, " I wanted not
friends to persuade him into a confidence of me, on which
account I got my liberty and this " (pulling out a pass
from the Prince which, he said, was for himself, n officers
and 140 soldiers, which were all he could get account of
to be in Liverpool, Chester and Holyhead, else he believed
he could have got a pass for 700 as well as for seven score,
adding, " Had King James been so well advised as he
might, he need not have come out of England for want of
friends to support him "). After much discourse to the
same effect a coach came to the door with Sir Richard
Nagle and Secretary Ellis. Hamilton said jokingly to Ellis,
" How, Brother Sham, are you there ? The kingdom of
Ireland is beholden to you and I, for averting this storm
off from them ; else you had had ere this an enemy in the
bowels of the kingdom/' 1
Other witnesses deposed that before Hamilton's arrival
Tyrconnel would have been quite willing to submit. Sir
Robert Colvill declared that Tyrconnel had told him he
was weary of the sword and he would throw it down with
as much satisfaction as he had received it, but what was he
to do with it, since there was nobody to receive it was
he to throw it into the kennel ? Others stated that Tyrcon-
nel had pulled down all the hangings at the castle, had
laden about sixty carts with his goods, had sent all his best
1 Hist. MSS. Comm., i2th Report, Appendix, Part VI, pp. 189-190.
THE HAMILTONS AND THE WAR IN IRELAND 83
goods on board ship and had bought up all the guineas at
high rates. His Popish neighbours desired him to inform
them if any proposals came over from England, for they
would accept them. But when Richard Hamilton came
everything was changed. The ' English ' were dejected
because Hamilton was a Popish general. The Archbishop
of Dublin and others considered him an unfit man and
wondered how he came to be sent. The Papists of Dublin,
however, made bonfires and said that Dick Hamilton was
worth 10,000 men. All the commissions for raising men
were issued after Hamilton arrived. One witness declared
that methods were taken to destroy the Protestants as soon
as Hamilton came over, and another added that at the
time of the changes in England Tyrconnel was observed
to be much kinder to the Protestants than formerly, but
on the coming over of the Marquis de Pont (sic) from
France and Colonel Hamilton from England he was strangely
altered, and said he would lay the kingdom in ashes before
he would give up the sword. 1
All this, of course, gives us just one side of the story,
and there are doubtless many exaggerations in the fore-
going statements. Nevertheless the fact remains that
John Temple took the unfortunate issue of the action he
had advocated so much to heart that when some " hasty
and inconsiderate persons did say . . . that all y 6 blood
shed in recovering Ireland wou'd call for vengeance for him
and his family," he drowned himself in the Thames in
the quaint expression of a contemporary writer, " he took
occasion by water to goe into another world/' 2
The Marquis de ' Pont ' above mentioned de Pointis
to give him his real name and Captain Michael Roth had
come to Dublin from the French court in January to investi-
gate the state of affairs. The ship that had brought them to
Ireland returned two days later and carried Lord Mount joy
and Sir Stephen Rice to France ; 3 the former was to advise
James to let Ireland come to terms with the Prince of
Orange, the latter was to assure James of Ireland's loyalty
and to urge him to prevent Mount joy, the Protestant
leader, from returning to Ireland. Mount joy was accord-
1 Ib., pp. 138-143, 191.
a Hatton Correspondence (Camden), II, 132, 133, April 2oth and 23rd,
1689.
8 Boulger, Battle of the Boyne, p. 44.
84 ANTHONY HAMILTON
ingly lodged in the Bastille, and there he remained until
1692, when he was exchanged for another prisoner of war,
namely, Richard Hamilton.
On the 5th of February, John Hamilton, the youngest
of the brothers, arrived in Paris, possibly the bearer of some
letters from Tyrconnel, and on the I7th he left again with
the English and Scottish officers who were moving towards
Brest. 1 He was one of the 83 officers who sailed with
James to Ireland on the jih of March (O.S.). 2 James
landed at Kinsale on the I2th and entered Dublin on the
24th. On the I4th Tyrconnel had met him at Cork and
had told him amongst other things that he had sent ' Lieu-
tenant-General ' Hamilton with 2500 men to Ulster against
the rebels. According to Melfort, Richard Hamilton and
some others had been thus advanced in rank by the Duke
of Tyrconnel before the King's arrival and without the
King's knowledge. 3 It was probably at this time that
Anthony Hamilton was made Brigadier, since he com-
manded with that rank in 1689. These various promotions
cannot have been altogether agreeable to James, who was
bringing several French general officers with him Rosen,
commander-in-chief ; Maumont, a lieutenant-general ; Pu-
signan, a brigadier, and others.
^ Besides these officers there had come with James the
Comte d'Avaux, as a representative of the French Govern-
ment, and one of the first things that Avaux did on his
arrival was to urge ' assez inutilement ' the sending of
reinforcements to Richard Hamilton. 4 What Avaux's
advice could not accomplish was brought about by the
news of Hamilton's being repulsed at Coleraine, after
having so far successfully driven back the ' rebels/ routing
them at Dromore. 5 Not only were troops sent north, but
James resolved to go there in person, in spite of all Avaux
and Tyrconnel could say. The men who were to march to
1 Dangeau, II, pp. 324, 344.
* Gilbert, Jacobite Narrative, p. 316.
8 Macpherson, Original Papers, I, p. 177. A marginal note to the
French text in Melfort's hand.
, 4 J^, aux ' Negotiations, pp. 49, 52. The copy of Avaux preserved at
the Bibhotheque Nationale has the following interesting autograph note :
"Ce volume m'a ete donne par Lord Aberdeen, qui en avait fait faire le
travail par son fils Arthur Gordon, alors ag6 de seize ans. II n'en a 6te tire
que dix exemplaires. Haddo House, 13 aout, 1858. Guizot."
6 Ib; p. 53. IT April, to Louvois.
THE HAMILTONS AND THE WAR IN IRELAND 85
Ulster were to be under the command of Pusignan, because,
Avaux explains, he was not major-general, the King of
England being unwilling to set anyone above M. Amilton. 1
' M. Amilton ' was already beginning to lose favour in
Avaux's sight. The defeat at Coleraine, the Ambassador
explained to Louvois, was entirely due to mismanagement
on the part of the besiegers. M. Amilton had advanced
without taking any precautions, imagining that his arrival
would suffice to strike terror into the inhabitants of Coleraine,
and, besides, he had not had provisions enough with him
to last him for one day. A single battalion of Frenchmen
would have settled the affaire of Coleraine and London-
derry. 2 Great was the regret of Avaux that there were
no French soldiers to do the work efficiently, and having
succeeded in convincing James of the necessity of their
immediate presence in Ireland, he opened up the negotia-
tions with Louvois that were to result in the exchange of
troops.
As a matter of fact, Richard Hamilton was very badly
off for arms, ammunition and trained men. " I am sencible,"
writes Tyrconnel to him about this time. " You want
*' . . ;. [necejssaryes fitting to take in such places, [and what]
is yet worss, all sortes of officers, but . . . n[oe] remedy,
you must do as well as you can." How much Tyrconnel was
attached to the Hamiltons is shown in the letters he wrote
to Richard, while the latter was besieging Londonderry.
" As for your brothers, Anthony and Jack," the same
letter goes on to say, " you ... for theyr owne sakes as
well as ... [I will] doe by them as if they wear my owne.
Anthony has a regiment and is Brig[adier and] will very
soone be a Major-Generall. Jack has Mount joy's regiment
and I hope . . . brigadyer as soone as Anthony is [advanced
to a higher post]. Adieu Richard. You know how [I love]
you and them and that I will [doe all] in my power for
them/' 3
" Je nay jamais doute de uostre tendresse, mon cher
frere," he writes at another time, " et rien ne me fait tant
de peine que le peu d'apparence qu'il y a que nous nous
1 Ib., p. 73, T 4 T April, to Louvois.
2 Ib., p. 76. The same letter.
8 Hist. MSS. Comm., 8th Report, Appendix, Part I, p. 496. These
letters are unfortunately almost falling to pieces.
86 ANTHONY HAMILTON
uoyons bien tost. . . . Adieu, dear Richard, tell [Don]gan
and Sheldon that I haue not writ to you all this whyle and
then they will not wonder I haue not writ to them. Au
reste, I haue noe more to say, but that I would faine haue
those two damnde places, Derry and Coolraine, as soone
confounded as you could." 1
" [If you] knew, he writes from Kilkenny, on the I7th of
April, how ill I have been of late, ... I am woorryed and
hurry ed about [you wo]uld easily excuse my not haueing
of ... [wr]it so oftne with my owne hand . . . assure
your self, Richard, that I loue . . . much as euer and that
I will euer do so. ... Would to God you . . . [r]educe
that same Derry which giues us so [much tro]uble . * .
wreyt to me constantly." 2
Meanwhile, James had set out northwards and, after
having once retreated, finally arrived before Londonderry,
which was now besieged by Hamilton. The ' rebels ' had
abandoned Coleraine, some others had been scattered at
Strabane Rosen, Maumont and Lery had joined Richard
Hamilton and Pusignan, and the Duke of Berwick had
written to James that according to the general officers,
he had only to appear before Derry and its gates would be
opened to him. 3 Four times James summoned the town
and when he saw that it was of no avail he returned to
Dublin, ' very much mortified/ with Rosen and Le*ry,
leaving the other general officers with Hamilton. 4
For the sake of peace amongst the officers besieging
Londonderry, it was a good thing that James took Rosen
away with him ; few generals have been less beloved by
their inferiors. 5 Friction between the French and English
was almost inevitable. The Irish soldiers, Walker relates,
" express'd great prejudice and hatred of the French,
Cursing those Damnd Fellows that walked in Trunks
1 Hist. MSS. Comm., 8th Report, Appendix, Part I, p. 496.
8 /&., p. 495.
8 Avaux, p. 102, ff April, 1689.
* /&., p. ioo, |f April, 1689.
5 " Hamilton s'est explique," writes Pointis, who was in charge of the
artillery, " qu'il ne serviroit point sous Mr. Rozen, non pas par difficulte
de lui obeir mais parce que, en servant bien, il ne veut pas etre querelle.
Quatre ou cinq \ Brigadiers et Colonels qui sont icy sont dans le mdme
sentiment, mais la presence du Roy d'Angleterre les oblige a prendre
patience." (Guerre, 963, No. 16, May iith, 1689, to Seignelay.)
THE HAMILTONS AND THE WAR IN IRELAND 87
(meaning their Jackboots), that had all Preferments in the
Army that fell, and took the Bread out of their Mouths." 1
Avaux informed Louvois that there was a kind of cabal
in the army between Hamilton and his friends, against
the French officers, because M. d'Hamilton regretted the
presence of these officers, imagining that they would rob
him of his glory. "If M. d'Hamilton continues to act as
he has done up till now, there is little enough likelihood of
his winning fame," Avaux concludes. 2 If intrigues there
were, Hamilton was probably not the only one to be blamed.
Tyrconnel writes to him in a very kindly strain about this
time : " Richard, I will [not] onely share . . . fattiq[u]e
and hazard with you, but . . . [your] self all the honor
I do assure you." 3
Hamilton's French rivals did not fare as well as he at
Londonderry ; Maumont, attacking the fort of Culmore,
was killed ; Pusignan died from the effects of a wound ;
Pointis was wounded. " Apres avoir fait perir deux gener-
aux et deux ou trois autres officiers frangois, ils sont
reduit a convertir le sie~ge en blocus," is Avaux' comment. 4
Hamilton tried to gain the leading men of the city by
bribing them, and some, according to Pointis, were quite
willing to listen to his proposals, but the General was too
much hampered by the fear that James would not enjoy
a treaty that cost him so much money. " Sa Majeste
Britannique est d'une telle reserve sur les depenses." 5
All things considered, it would seem that Hamilton
showed little skill during the siege. It is true since Avaux
admits it that through the fault of Pointis there was great
delay in getting ammunition to the army ; 6 it is true that
Hamilton was altogether insufficiently equipped for a siege
of any description ; it is true that he did something to
prevent English ships bringing relief by placing a boom
across the river, but, as the very critical author of Light to
1 Account of the Siege of Londonderry, p. 38.
2 Avaux, p. 159, ^ May, 1689.
8 Hist. MSS. Comm., 8th Report, Appendix, Part I, p. 494, May ist,
1689.
4 Avaux, p. 137, T 2 T May, 1689.
6 Guerre, 963, Pointis to Seignelay, ^ May, 1689.
6 Avaux, p. 114, 2 M Pnl . 1689. The siege had begun in April and in
June not half of the soldiers were yet in possession of swords. (Avaux,
p. 209.)
88 ANTHONY HAMILTON
the Blind remarks, " Why [if the siege was carried on to
famish the town] were the besiegers exposed from time to
time to danger and actual slaughter, first, by having no
lines of defence, especially for the greatest part of the
duration of the siege ; and, secondly, by sending the men
upon attacks with extraordinary disadvantage, as in day
advanced, and against the enemies covered altogether with
entrenchments ? " x Avaux again and again expressed his
opinion that Hamilton was not the man to conduct such
an important affair, 2 and complained that the general,
in spite of his intentions of starving the town, allowed
fifty to a hundred people to leave Londonderry almost
daily. 3 July came and the besiegers were no further ad-
vanced.
Letter after letter was sent by James, emphasizing the
extreme necessity of the taking of the town. 4 " Sir," writes
Melfort to Hamilton on the 2nd of July, " thers something
in this mater of Derry we can [not] at this distance under-
stand, but the taking of it is of such importance to the
King [that] nothing can be mor, and therefor I doubt [not]
that you will press it all you can. . . . Pray send us some
good news [at] least that the folks are working." 5 And
again, a fortnight later : "I hope you shal see the effect
. . . how all the King's affaires depends. . . . [th]is one
place, and if you have the good [fortune] to take it before
the threatned suce[ours] come you will have ane honour
that . . . men wold be fond of." 6
Hamilton had twice been severely repulsed in attempting
to take a piece of waste land that the besieged had secured,
and James, thoroughly alarmed, once more sent Rosen
to Londonderry to assume the chief command, 7 greatly to
1 Gilbert, Jacobite Narrative, p. 65. Cf. p. 67, ' The ridiculous siege of
Londonderry.'
Avaux, pp. 1 86, 221, \$ May and f June, 1689.
/&., p. 159, 8-1 8 May, 1689.
These letters, preserved at the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, are
pri ted infra pp. 285-295 (Appendix VI).
Hist. MSS. Comm., 8th Report, Appendix, Part I, p. 495.
Ib.
" Le 10 [juillet] on eut nouvelle que le siege de Londonderry n'avoit
jamais ete bien forme, mais qu'enfin le Roi d'Angleterre y avoit envoye
quinze mille hommes, sous les ordres de M. Rosen, qui devoit attaquer
cette place dans toutes les formes, et que le Comte d'Hamilton qui iusqu'
alors y avoit commando avoit refuse d'obeir a M. Rosen. II y eut des
gens qui trouvdrent a redire qu'il eut fait cette demarche, parce que
THE HAMILTONS AND THE WAR IN IRELAND 89
the dismay of the Irish officers, for Rosen, who considered
them lazy, threatened that he would have their heads cut
off. " They are not accustomed to such manners/' Pointis
pleasantly explains to Seignelay . * About this time Hamilton
had offered some easy terms to the garrison of Londonderry,
the garrison, however, though living on horseflesh and worse
things, had unanimously resolved to eat their prisoners
first and then one another, rather than surrender, and
answered in return, " That they much wonder'd he shou'd
expect they cou'd place any confidence in him that had
so unworthily broke Faith with their King, that he was
once generously trusted though an enemy yet betray'd
his trust and they cou'd not believe he had learned more
sincerity in an Irish camp." 2
Rosen swore, so Walker relates, that by the Belly of God
he would demolish the town and bury all under its ashes ; 3
he at once issued a proclamation, summoning the garrison
to surrender and declaring that no mercy would be shown
if Hamilton's proposals were refused ; he would, besides,
have all the Protestants of the country surrounding driven
before the gates of Londonderry to be admitted or to starve
in the sight of their friends. In a letter of the same day,
June 3oth (O.S.), he announced to Louvois his intentions
of ' exterminating the rebels of the whole district.' 4 The
inhabitants of Londonderry retaliated by threatening to
hang all their prisoners unless Rosen let their friends go,
and the Jacobite prisoners sent word to Rosen to save them
by liberating the Protestants, but receiving no answer they
wrote to Richard Hamilton, asking him to exert his influence,
knowing, they said, he was a Person who did not delight
in shedding innocent blood. " We are all willing to die (with
our Swords in our hands) for His Majesty," they wrote,
" but to suffer like Malefactors is hard." They received
the following letter in reply :
M. Rosen etoit marechal de camp en France, dans le temps que M.
d'Hamilton n'y etoit que capitaine d'infanterie ; mais cette raison que
auroit ete fort bonne s'ils avoient tous deux servi en France, n'etoit pas
de mise parce qu'il etoient en Irlande au service du Roi d'Angleterre et
que M. d'Hamilton etoit lieutenant general du Roi d'Angleterre avant que
M. Rosen fut au service de ce prince." (Sourches, III, p. 116.)
1 Guerre, 963, Pointis to Seignelay, 26 J une , 1689.
6 July
2 Walker, p. 34.
3 Ib., p. 32.
4 Guerre, 895, No. 93.
go ANTHONY HAMILTON
" Gentlemen, In answer to yours ; What these poor
people are like to suffer, they may thank themselves for,
being their own fault ; which they may prevent by accepting
the Conditions which have been offered them ; and if you
suffer in this it cannot be help'd but shall be reveng'd on
many thousands of those People (as well innocent as others)
within or without that City. Yours, R. Hamilton." 1
But the sight of the gallows on the ramparts and the
importunity of the friends of those who were to suffer
forced Rosen to relinquish his barbarous plans which, as
will be remembered, found no favour with the army and
least of all with James, who was furious, while Melfort
added that if Rosen had been one of His Majesty's subjects
he would have been hung. 2 To Hamilton Melfort wrote :
" The King is very well satisf [yed] with all your proceedings
and wee doubt not [but] you shall after all have yet the
honour to finish the business of Derry with succes and
1 Walker, p. 36.
* Avaux, p. 309, & July, 1689.
La Fontaine has touched upon the siege of Londonderry in a letter to
the Prince de Conti, dated August i8th, 1689.
Londonderry s'en va se rendre,
Voila ce qu'on me vient d'apprendre :
Mais dans deux jours je m'attends bien
Qu'un bruit viendra qu'il n'en est rien.
J'ai meme encor certain scrupule :
Ce si&ge est-il un sidge ou non ?
II resemble a 1'Ascension,
Qui n'avance ni ne recule.
Jacque aura monte sa pendule
Plus d'une fois avant qu'il ait
Tous ces rebelles a souhait.
On leur a mene pdres, meres,
Femmes, enfants, personnes chores
Qu'on retient par force entasses
Comme moutons dans les fosses.
Cette troupe aux assieges crie :
" Rendez vous, sauvez nous la vie ! "
Point de nouvelle, Au diantre 1'un
Qui ne soit sourd. Le bruit commun
Est qu'ils n'ont plus de quoi repaitre ;
A la clemence de leur maitre
Us se devroient abandonner.
Et puis allez moi pardonner
A cette maudite canaille !
Les gens trop bons et trop devots
Ne font bien sou vent rien qui vaille.
Faut-il qu'un prince ait ces defauts ?
(Euvres (Edition des Grands Eqiivains), IX, pp. 440-441.
THE HAMILTONS AND THE WAR IN IRELAND 91
[wijthout employing any of these extraordinary [m]eans
the King has expressly commanded to forbear/' 1
Avaux, however, about the same time, complained to
Louis that Richard Hamilton was taking no pains with the
siege and that not a shot had been fired for a week. Acting
on a suggestion of Louvois, he told James all that he knew
of Hamilton's ' misconduct/ and found that James had
been informed of it and was almost persuaded of Hamilton's
guilt, " mais il vouloit me le cacher et il tache de se le cacher
a luy mesme, aussi bien que tout ce qui luy peut faire de
la peine." 2 Hamilton's incapacity, according to the Am-
bassador, was so marked that some doubted of his loyalty. 3
A letter from Louvois, dated June I3th, arrived about
this time, and suggested that if the siege had not yet been
raised it ought to be done at once, so that the troops might
be in a better condition to oppose Schomberg's army. 4
Avaux submitted the suggestion, but James would not hear
of it until an intercepted letter from Schomberg to Kirke
announced Solms' arrival shortly with troops, and even then
James was reluctant and there was some delay in sending
letters to Londonderry. 5 " I [con]fess," writes Melfort to
Richard Hamilton on the 22nd of July, " its hard to leav
a town so near starved and [of so] much consequence to the
King to hav, but if it be so, that mortificatione must be
swallowed/' 6
But before the siege was raised, the English ships that had
lain outside Londonderry and had once already attempted
1 Hist. MSS. Comm., 8th Report, Appendix, Part I, p. 495, July 4th
(O.S.).
* Avaux, p. 258, * J^y, 1689 ; p. 298, , 1689.
3 Ib., p. 295, the same letter. Fumeron says the same. " Les troupes
soupconnoient M. d'Hamilton d'intelligence avec les assieges ce qui les a
fait (avec le peu de precaution que la Cour a pris pour leur payement et
leur subsistance) deserter en Bande." (Bibliothdque Mazarine, MS. 2298,
f. 49, to Louvois, July 8th, 1689.)
Rumours of what was being alleged against him must have reached
Hamilton, for we find Melfort writing to him : "I cannot questione you
in thes matters and I am sure I never bla[med] you for anything thats
past. I wish to [God] all others did so." (Hist. MSS. Comm., 8th Report,
Appendix, Part I, p. 495.)
4 Avaux, p. 281.
5 Ib., p. 316, H July ; p. 323, H July ; pp. 350, 35<5, 376,
August, 1689.
6 Hist. MSS. Report quoted.
9 2 ANTHONY HAMILTON
to force their way up the river, got past the fire of the
forts, crashed through the boom, sailed into the town and
the famine was at an end. On the morning of the day
following, August ist, the investing army had disappeared. 1
At the time of the siege it had been proposed to Richard
Hamilton to sink a barge in the river, but he refused, saying
that it would afterwards spoil the commerce of Londonderry
and thus lessen the royal revenue, and it appears that he
had the King's authority for this. 2 In any case, it proved
to be a short-sighted view, and an even greater mistake
was the insufficient strength of the works that were to
prevent the enemy sailing up the river. Pointis had begun
to construct a second boom, but Hamilton made him
interrupt his work, saying that he no longer thought the
enemy likely to come that way, and that their attentions
must be concentrated on the spot where the English might
land and be joined by the Protestants of the country round
about. 8
The same day that Richard Hamilton was forced to give
up the siege of Londonderry, Anthony Hamilton experienced
a misfortune just as great, perhaps even greater because
more unexpected. The other stronghold of the Protestants
of Ulster, Enniskillen, had closed its gates against James
and had elected Gustavus Hamilton governor. The war
was truly one in which brother fought against brother and
1 The besiegers of Londonderry moved slowly to Dublin, arriving there
in a thoroughly disheartened and enfeebled condition. Rosen, discouraged
and disgusted, took an altogether pessimistic view of the state of affairs.
" Vous ne scauriez vous imaginer, Monseigneur," he writes to Louvois,
" la negligence et paresse de cette nation-cy et le peu duplication qu'elle
a pour le service et sans vous parler de leur inclination basse et lasche qui
ne tend qu'a piller et voler jusqu'aux milords et aux autres seigneurs, je
ne m'arrete qu'a vous asseurer avec verite que je n'y connois pas deux
personnes sur qui on puisse compter et que Ton puisse dire omciers, mesme
parmi ceux qui ont plusieurs annees de service, n'ayant ni intelligence ni
conception, vous pouvez juger de rembarras ou je me trouve avec une
cohue de paysans ramassez ou pour mieux dire des ours sauvages, d'ailleurs
aucun officier general pour m'aider et secourir, 1'esprit du prince, le genie
du ministre et le pitoyable Gouvernement qui surpasse 1'imagination met
M. d'Avaux et moy dans une peine d'inquietude que je ne scaurois exprimer
. . . par ma foy, Monseigneur, le coeur me saigne de me voir embarque
dans un si mauvais party." Guerre, 893 (the letters are not numbered),
^ August, 1689.
2 Gilbert, Jacobite Narrative, p. 66.
8 R.O. St. P., Ireland, William and Mary, Vol. 352, No. 6, Pointis to
Louvois, June 22nd (N.S. presumably), 1689. The letter goes on to say,
" M. d' Hamilton ne fait faire aucun travail contre elle [la place] persuade
qu'il faudra lever le siege pour marcher aux enemis."
THE HAMILTONS AND THE WAR IN IRELAND 93
friend against friend. The Hamiltons owned a divided
allegiance and the Parliament of Dublin attainted forty-six
of that name. 1 Anthony Hamilton was amongst those sent
against Enniskillen and against his cousin, Gustavus
Hamilton, who, not so long ago, had fought by his side
and by the side of Sarsfield, in the regiment d' Hamilton,
and had since been John Hamilton's superior in Lord
Mount joy's regiment. With Anthony, in the same expe-
dition fought his cousin, Claud Hamilton, the fourth Earl
of Abercorn. 2 The Captain James Hamilton who had
brought arms and ammunition to Derry in March, was
a nephew of the Hamiltons, the eldest son of their late
brother James, and the Captain Hamilton who, in May,
seized all the small boats cruising between Ireland and
Scotland, and in June destroyed a number of boats in the
Highlands and captured a French privateer and another
vessel on its way to Ireland with arms and ammunition
was none other than their own brother Thomas. 3
Anthony Hamilton had been appointed Major-General
in the early part of summer. 4 When it was rumoured that
arms had been sent to Enniskillen and that as soon as the
inhabitants were able to attack the rear of the army besieging
Londonderry, Kirke, who had come from England on the
I5th of June, would land and join them, steps were taken
to prevent any raiding skirmishes on the part of the Ennis-
killeners. The Duke of Berwick was posted between Derry
and Enniskillen, ' Antoine Amilton ' at Belturbet and ' un
nomme Sasphilt ' at Sligo. 6 They were slowly to close in
around Enniskillen. Macarthy, or rather Mountcashell as
he was now called, promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-
General, joined Hamilton at Belturbet and they proceeded
to move north towards Enniskillen.
1 D'Alton, King James' Irish Army List, I, p. 193.
2 He was really a son of their cousin George Hamilton (son of Claud,
second Lord Strabane.)
8 Charnock, Biographia Navalis, I, p. 312, Hist. MSS. Comm., I2th
Report, Appendix, Part VII, pp. 241, 246. This is the last time one
comes across Thomas Hamilton. He is supposed to have died in the
West Indies.
4 Avaux, p. 311, ^ July, 1689.
6 Ib,, pp. 257, 311, both letters of T V July. That Avaux and other
Frenchmen write the name Amilton, Amilthon or Amileton is not sur-
prising, but it is curious to find Tyrconnel, in a letter to Louvois, speaking
of Anthony Hamilton as Monsieur d'Amilton. Guerre, 962, No. 172
(holograph).
94 ANTHONY HAMILTON
On the soth of July, Lieutenant-Colonel Berry, one of
Kirke's officers commanding at Enniskillen, was sent to
Lisnaskea, a castle ten miles from Enniskillen towards the
enemy. He was to place a garrison there if the castle was
tenable ; if not, he was to burn it. Berry found the Castle
so dilapidated that he did not even trouble to burn it, and
the next morning, he marched two miles further towards
the enemy who were said to have invested the castle of
Crum. Mountcashell, hearing of his approach, ordered
Anthony Hamilton to march with his Dragoons towards
Lisnaskea, to drive back the enemy, and then to occupy
a narrow pass where, it would seem, an hundred men could
stop ten thousand. Berry retreated before Hamilton, but
instead of remaining Hamilton followed on, until he had
left the pass five miles behind him. When the Enniskillen
men had crossed a bog with only a very narrow causeway
through it, they halted and, Captain Cathcart from Ennis-
killen having joined them with a detachment of foot,
Berry resolved to face the enemy. He placed a certain
number of men in ambush, in a thicket of underwood from
where they could conveniently fire at the enemy's flank,
but ordered them not to fire until after he and the men
whom he stationed along the bank of the bog had begun.
Presently Anthony Hamilton rode into sight with his
dragoons. He alighted from his horse, made his men do
likewise and led them on, advancing ' very bravely ' (these
are the enemy's words). His dragoons fired very thickly as
they came on, but with no great success, according to the
True Relation of the Action of the Inniskilling Men, " for
it pleased God that after a great many vollies of shot which
they made at us, not one of our men were killed." When
Hamilton's men were within forty yards of the bog (or
river, as one authority calls it) the men of Enniskillen
began to fire and at the same time those in ambush who
were close to the enemy's flank let fly. Many were killed
and Anthony Hamilton was wounded in the leg. He
retreated a little to mount his horse, sending another officer
to take his place. But a few minutes later this second-in-
command was killed. No chief officer being present to lead
them on, Hamilton sent an order to a Captain Lavallin
to make the men wheel to the left to get them out of the
double line of fire pouring upon them. Lavallin, however,
it would seem, ordered the men to the left about.
THE HAMILTONS AND THE WAR IN IRELAND 95
In a moment the men who, though a fine regiment, were
new and raw levies, galloped off the field, in spite of all
Hamilton could say or do to stop their disorderly flight.
Nothing remained for him but to go with them ; wounded
as he was and having a horse shot under him, he escaped
with difficulty. The enemy pursued them three miles
and the road was strewn with the bodies of the dead.
Hamilton and what was left of his dragoons rejoined
Mountcashell at Newton Butler, while the pursuers retired
to Lisnaskea. In the afternoon the Enniskillen men, em-
boldened by the success of the morning, came on again in
a larger body. The cannoneers were soon cut to pieces, the
dragoons, who had been defeated that morning, fled once
more and without striking a blow ; the rest of the cavalry
followed their example panic-stricken and the infantry ran
for their lives. Anthony Hamilton, it must be confessed,
fled with his dragoons, reached Cavan, and, not thinking
himself in safety there, hurried on to Navan, miles and
miles away from the battlefield. Mountcashell was taken,
fighting bravely, and carried to Enniskillen. The losses
of his army were enormous, and those who had survived
were scattered in all parts of the country. 1 ' ' Un fort brave
homme/' the critical Avaux remarks of Anthony Hamilton,
" mais qui ne merit e pas d'estre nomme officier et que Ton
n'a fait Marechal de Camp que pour complaire a M d Tir-
connel." 2
The Hamiltons were reproached on all sides for their
conduct. " For what's past," writes Melfort to Lord
Waldegrave, "it is in vain to talk to you about it, nor
to tell you the blame thrown on the two Hamiltons, or the
diffidence the natives have of them. All we must look to
1 Hamilton, A True Relation of the Action of the Inniskilling Men ;
MacCormick, A Farther Account ; Jacobite Narrative, pp. 81-82 ; Avaux,
PP- 377. 384-386 ; Guerre, 893 (the documents are not numbered), a letter
from Avaux to Louis, -^ August, 1689. The same letter is printed in
Avaux, pp. 383-390, but with considerable omissions. According to Story
(Impartial History, p. 5), at the battle of Newton Butler Mountcashell
ordered his men to move to the right, and in the confusion the officer who
delivered the order commanded the men to face right about, with dis-
astrous results. This is very likely another version of the event that had
taken place earlier in the day at Lisnaskea.
Fumeron writes to Louvois : " On blame extremement la conduite que
Milord Montcassel a eu dans cette occasion . . . et encore plus celle
d'Antoine Hamilton qui a mal apropos engage 1'affaire." (Bibliotheque
Mazarine, MS. 2298, f. 65, & August, 1689.)
z Guerre, 893, the letter above mentioned.
96 ANTHONY HAMILTON
now is what's to come and that depends on what the King
of France will do/' 1 "The Hamiltons," Avaux tells
Louvois, " are exceedingly hated in this country," 2 and
speaking of Richard Hamilton he writes at another time,
" Hamilton who commands the first line of infantry is
hated and despised by the troops and they suspect him
more than I can tell/' 3
Three weeks after the defeat Anthony Hamilton and
Captain Lavallin were tried before a court-martial in
Dublin for their flight at Lisnaskea. Rosen presided over
the court. His relations with Richard Hamilton had been
none of the best, nor was Anthony on very cordial terms
with him ; 4 nevertheless, Anthony was acquitted and
Lavallin, who to the end protested that he had repeated
the order as it had been given to him, was put to death.
He was believed by not a few, and the private soldiers
murmured that he did not deserve to die so well as some
of his accusers. 6
Ever since the arrival of James there had been constant
friction and dispeace among his various advisers and
councillors. Melfort wrote to Paris against Avaux, Tyr-
connel wrote against Melfort, James complained of Melfort
to Avaux and Tyrconnel and yet was swayed by him alone.
Lady Tyrconnel took it upon herself to interfere. Lauzun
spoke against Avaux to Queen Mary of Modena, and accused
him of having said that James was governed by the Duke
of Berwick and Berwick by the Hamiltons, and these
rumours being transmitted to James, he in turn reproached
Avaux. 6 But the Irish were at least unanimous in their
hatred of Melfort. In August they drew up a petition,
asking James to remove him from his service, and Melfort
retired to France. He was pleased to consider himself the
victim of certain intrigues, and told Avaux, in confidence,
that the petition could be traced to the influence of some
ladies and a gentleman, a friend of Avaux' ; meaning Lord
and Lady Tyrconnel and her daughters, the Viscountesses
Ross, Kingsland and Dillon ; and that the real reason
1 Macpherson, Original Papers, I, p. 313, August loth, 1689.
2 Guerre, 1082, No. 37, Avaux to Louvois, f$ October, 1689.
3 /&., No. 6, the same to the same, # Sept., 1689.
4 Ib., Vol. 893, Rosen to Louvois, f July, 1689.
5 Gilbert, Jacobite Narrative, p. 82 ; Archbishop King, Diary, p. 39.
6 Avaux, passim, especially p. 250.
THE HAMILTONS AND THE WAR IN IRELAND 97
for their acting against him was their desire to save Anthony
and Richard Hamilton, lest he, Melfort, should accuse the
one of his flight at Lisnaskea and the other of his disgraceful
conduct at Derry. 1
Richard Hamilton had come back from Londonderry
in a very precarious state of health ; his lungs had suffered
from the exposure he had undergone, and at one time he
thought he could not spend another winter in Ireland but
resolved to go to Montpellier for his health. 2 No doubt
his misfortunes and his unpopularity contributed not a
little to this resolution. Ultimately, however, he stayed on.
Schomberg, with his army, had landed in the middle of
August, captured Carrickfergus and occupied Newry, but
refused to accept battle with James. Anthony and Richard
Hamilton were in Dublin most of the autumn, and John
Hamilton, now brigadier, was with the much-increased
and improved army that James and Rosen commanded. 3
The regiment mentioned in various army lists by the name
of Hamilton was John's. At an early date the Jacobite
army went into winter quarters ; " the young commanders,"
so says the author of Macarice Excidium, " were in some
haste to return to Salamis (Dublin), where the ladies ex-
pected them with some impatience. . . . And now the
winter season, which should be employed in serious consulta-
tions, and making the necessary preparations for the
ensuing campaign, was idly spent in revels, in gaming and
other debauches unfit for a Delphican (Roman Catholic)
court/' 4
It was arranged that Rosen and Avaux should return
to France early in spring, and the very unsuitable Lauzun
was to take Rosen's place. With Lauzun were to come
some superior French regiments, and the ships that brought
these were to take back the newly raised Irish regiments,
five in number, that James was sending to Louis in exchange,
1 Avaux, p. 430, |f August. At the same time Melfort told Tyrconnel
that Avaux had declared to him that he, Avaux, was not in the least
to blame for his removal, and that it was due to Lord and Lady Tyrconnel's
anxiety to save the Hamiltons (p. 509).
2 Guerre, 1082, No. 37, Avaux to Louvois, | Oct., 1689.
8 Ib. t No. 5, Girardin to Louvois, - 3 1689, Avaux, pp. 460,
25 August
S9i.
4 P- 34- In this narrative Anthony Hamilton is known as Antenor,
Richard as Monganes and John as Amilcar.
H
98 ANTHONY HAMILTON
under the command of Mountcashell, escaped from Ennis-
killen. The possible exchange of troops had been mentioned
by Avaux as early as April, 1689, shortly after his arrival ;
the same letters had mentioned Richard Hamilton's lack
of skill at Coleraine ; others spoke of his unsuccessful
operations before Londonderry. In reply Louvois agreed
to the exchange of troops ; along with his official despatch,
one of great length, he enclosed a private note to the effect
that His Majesty did not wish as commander of the Irish
troops or even as colonels any of the Hamiltons who had
served in France. Avaux was to keep this secret as long
as possible, and if any explanations became necessary he
was to see the King of England in private and beg him not
to speak of the matter to others. 1
Louvois had by no means forgotten Richard Hamilton
and the circumstances of his departure from France. Avaux
himself wrote to Louvois that Richard Hamilton was un-
worthy for many reasons to serve His Majesty, besides,
Richard Hamilton had been heard to declare that he had
been unjustly treated in France, and that he would have
his revenge. 2 All this only confirmed Louis and Louvois
in their dislike of the Hamiltons. In September Louvois
directed Avaux to select only the most trustworthy officers
for the service of France, " people in whom you think the
King may place his confidence and in whom he does not
need to fear that instability which is only too common in
the nation," and he concluded by remarking that the King
did not desire any of the Hamiltons. 3 The order was
repeated in November, " surtout Sa Majeste ne veut point
aucun Hamilton." 4 Avaux and the Irish regiments inno-
cent of any Hamiltons left in April, 1690. Curiously
enough, the capitulation of these regiments was
1690 based on the agreement signed by George Hamilton
in 1671 when about to raise the regiment
d'Hamilton. 5
1 Avaux, p. 287, Louvois to Avaux, June i2th, 1689.
2 Guerre, 893, Avaux to Louvois, 3 June , 1689. Nor had
Richard Hamilton much sympathy for Avaux. Fumeron describes him
saying, " Des choses tres desobligeantes et d'un ton fort aigre et meprisant "
to the Ambassador. (Bibliotheque Mazarine, MS. 2298, f. 87.)
3 Avaux, p. 515, Louvois to Avaux, Sept. 17, 1689.
* Ib., p. 584.
5 U>- PP- 531. 538, 591-594-
THE HAMILTONS AND THE WAR IN IRELAND 99
As soon as Lauzun set foot on the Irish soil, his difficulties
began. James had sent Lord Dover to Cork to assist
Lauzun in disembarking his troops and ammunition, but,
according to Lauzun, no help was forthcoming from Dover,
no efforts were made to procure the necessary horses and
oxen, the roads were impossible, the governor of Cork was
a ' wretch/ who did not love the French, and finally Lauzun,
in despair, set off alone to Dublin. The Marquis de la
Hoguette, whom he had left behind, fared no better with
Lord Dover. When La Hoguette ventured to remonstrate,
Dover replied by ' mille duretes/ said that he was tired
of being persecuted by the French and that he was going
back to the King. The French reinforcements were not
entering upon their new service under favourable auspices.
When James was informed of Lauzun's grievances he
directed Anthony Hamilton to proceed at once to Cork
with Brigadier Maxwell. They were hailed with relief by
the French regiments ; insufficient provisions, enforced
inactivity and increasing illness made them anxious to leave
Cork. " The arrival of Monsieur d'Amilton in this place
makes us hope that perhaps we may be enabled to get out
of it," writes an Intendant. A week later, on the 2ist of
April (N.S.), La Hoguette writes that Hamilton and Maxwell
are doing their best, but things do not advance very much,
" all orders are so badly carried out in this country/' 1
After much delay King James's army was at last got
together. William landed at Carrickfergus on the I4th
of June, and on the ist of July the Battle of the Boyne
was fought. The three Hamilton brothers took part in it.
1 Guerre, Vol. 961, Nos. 104, 109-111, 120, 121, 127, 135. Letters from
Lauzun, La Hoguette and Desgrigny to Louvois ; Dangeau, III, p. 108.
On Hamilton's arrival the harassed La Hoguette writes : " Monsieur
D'Amilton ... me paroit vouloir prendre 1'affaire en officier et en homme
qui ne voudra pas envoyer des ordres inutiles comme a fait tous les jours
le Milord Douvre," 961, No. 120, April i5th, 1690. As for ' Milord Douvre/
shortly before the Battle of the Boyne, " aprds avoir continue de tenir
toujours une conduite fort haineuse contre la France," he asked for a
passport so that he might go and make his peace with the Prince of Orange.
" Le Roy d'Angleterre dit a Milord Tyrconnel qu'il ne pouvoit pas luy
donner un passeport pour aller dans le Camp de 1'Ennemy ou il pourroit
rendre compte de 1'Estat present ou estoient toutes ses affaires, mais que
tout ce qu'il pouvoit faire, puisqu'il vouloit se retirer, c'estoit de permettre
qu'il demande un passeport pour aller en Flanders. Ce que Milord Douvre
accepta, disant que pourveu qu'il ne vist jamais ny la France nyl'Irlande,
il estoit content d'aller en Flanders en attendant qu'il pust passer en
Angleterre." (No. 163, Lauzun to Louvois, June, 1690.) Dover is
' little ' Jermyn of the Memoires de Grammont.
ioo ANTHONY HAMILTON
It will be remembered that William ordered his army to
cross the Boyne in three places, roughly speaking, his right
wing under young Schomberg at Rosnaree and Slane, the
centre under Schomberg at Oldbridge, and his left further
down the river towards Drogheda, under his own command.
On his left James had an insufficient force under Sir Neil
O'Neil, 1 Lord Dungan was on the right, and in the centre
at Oldbridge were Tyrconnel, Richard Hamilton and
Berwick. Early in the day Sir Neil O'Neil fell and Lauzun,
thinking that the fight was to centre round the bridge of
Slane, moved with James and La Hoguette, Girardin (Lery),
Famechon, Anthony Hamilton and Sarsfield to the left
so that the centre remained altogether insufficiently pro-
tected. Girardin and Anthony Hamilton commanded the
cavalry, the former was in charge of the first line, the latter,
of the second. The enemy had crossed the Boyne and was
approaching. It was determined to make a stand, but
meanwhile news came of disaster in the centre and on the
right, and Sarsfield reported that a ditch and a morass
prevented any move towards the enemy. Lauzun exclaimed
that the only thing now to be done was to save the person
of the King and the retreat towards Dublin began. Al-
together it would not seem that Anthony Hamilton was
exposed to any very great risks that day. " Our French
troops did not even have the advantage of firing a shot/'
writes an officer of that nationality. 2 John Hamilton was
commanding a brigade of the infantry of the second line,
somewhere amongst the men who proceeded to the left, it
would seem, and also reached Dublin in safety. 3
Richard fared otherwise. The fight was thickest at
Oldbridge and Richard led his men, seven regiments of foot,
to the brink of the water to oppose Schomberg's men
struggling up through the Boyne. After half an hour's
hard fighting the Irish infantry fell back. " Nos irlandois
n'ont rien fait qui vaille," writes Boisseleau, a reliable
1 According to Leland (History of Ireland, Vol. Ill), in the council of
war held by James the day before the battle Hamilton proposed that
eight regiments should be sent to secure the bridge of Slane (on James's
left). James proposed to employ fifty dragoons in this service ; the
general, in astonishment, bowed and was silent.
2 Guerre, 961, No. 179, Zurlauben to Louvois, Limerick, fj July,
1690. Berwick remarks, " Dans le combat de la Boyne nous ne perdlmes
qu'environ mille hommes et il n'y cut que les troupes de M. Hamilton
[Richard] et les miennes qui combattirent." (M6moires, p. 330.)
3 Guerre, 963, Lauzun to Seignelay, |f July, 1690,
THE HAMILTONS AND THE WAR IN IRELAND 101
authority, and with Hocquincourt the only French officer
who helped Hamilton, " ils ont tons lache le pies. Le roy
et bien a pleindre apres avoir pris tens de peines pour des
maleureux comme ceux-la. . . . Ces sauvages y sy qui ne
sont pas acoutumes a se metier ont ete bien surpris." 1 It
would seem, however, that the Irish infantry, unsupported
by any cavalry, held out until the enemy's cavalry began
to cross the river. Hamilton was wounded and made a
prisoner. Tyrconnel and Berwick, arriving with the cavalry
and charging with great bravery, made it possible for the
foot to retire. Further down the river, towards the right,
William had crossed. Lord Dungan had been killed and
his dragoons routed. The whole army was in retreat. 2
According to Burnet and Story, Richard Hamilton at
the head of the horse attempted to retrieve the fortune of
the day ; Dalrymple even goes so far as to say that Hamilton
excited his dragoons to a pitch of frenzy by causing brandy
to be distributed amongst them ; but Hamilton was an
infantry general, and it is rather doubtful that he put him-
self at the head of the cavalry when he saw the infantry
give way. Anthony Hamilton, as we have seen, was in
charge of part of the cavalry, but the above authorities are
not alluding to him, as he had no chance of engaging in
battle. From the same sources comes the anecdote of
William's question whether the men would still fight and
Hamilton's reply, " Upon my honour, I believe they will."
" Your honour, your honour ! " William is said to have
muttered.
English news-letters noted with much satisfaction that
General Hamilton, " who run over so basely to King James,"
was taken prisoner. 3 Various were the rumours that spread
after the battle. Anthony and John were convinced he
was dead, and Boisseleau, who had been with him at Old-
bridge, confirmed their report. Some said that he had joined
1 Guerre, 961, No. 171, Boisseleau to his wife, Cork, i5th and i6th July.
He adds, however, in the same letter, " Presentement ille sont si fache de
n'avoir pas fait leur devoir que je suis bien persuade qu'il feront mieux a
l'avenir."
* Guerre, 961. Various letters to Louvois describing the battle of the
Boyne, especially Girardin's letter (No. 178), dated July 9th; Gilbert,
Jacobite Narrative, pp. 98-103 ; Clarke, Life of James II ; Berwick,
Memoirs, pp. 329, 330 ; Murray, Revolutionary Ireland, pp. 156-162 ;
Boulger, Battle of the Boyne, pp. 148-182.
* Hist. MSS. Comm., Twelfth Report, Appendix, Part VII, p. 276.
102 ANTHONY HAMILTON
William, and there were not wanting those who declared
that they had seen him enter Dublin, then in William's
possession, with his arms. He was accused of not having
opposed sufficient resistance to the enemy at the passage
of Oldbridge and of having made some important dis-
closures to William, in connexion with a conspiracy in
England, to the effect that the French were assured of the
help of twenty thousand English Jacobites. 1 And so on.
In the long run Richard Hamilton's breach of honour had
cost him very dear, it brought him nothing but distrust,
even from those for whom he had broken his word.
In the retreat to Dublin which, on the whole, was very
orderly though the enemies followed hard, Lauzun had
sent the King ahead with some dragoons and cavalry, then
came the Irish infantry, then the French and Tyrconnel
and Lauzun formed the rearguard with the rest of the
cavalry. Anthony Hamilton rode with them, and on the
way they picked up John Hamilton with his infantry. 2
The above is Lauzun's own account of the retreat, but from
some other letters it would seem that he was by no means
the last to enter Dublin, and that Zurlauben, with his
regiment, abandoned by the General, was far behind this
so-called rear-guard. 3
James retired to France, 4 Dublin was invested by William
and Anthony and John Hamilton moved to Limerick with
the other Jacobites. 6 After Athlone had been besieged in
vain by the Williamites, it was the turn of Limerick, the
1 Hist. MSS. Comm., Twelfth Report, Appendix, Part VII, p. 279 ;
Guerre, 961, No. 94, Bouridal to Louvois, ft July ; No. 177,
Boisseleau to his wife, T 6 ^ July ; No. 180, Desgrigny to Louvois,
ft July, 1690. " Richard Amilton," writes Lauzun, " a etc fait
prisonnier faisant fort bien son devoir." (Guerre, 963 (the documents are
not numbered), July ^, to Seignelay.) Unfortunately Lauzun's own
behaviour at the Boyne was not such as to invest his praise or blame with
any great authority.
2 " Antoine et Jean Hamilton," says Lauzun, " ont toujours demeur6
a 1'arriere garde avec le Due de Tirconel et moy, ou ils se sont conduits en
braves gens." (Guerre, 963, to Seignelay, ft July, 1690.)
8 Guerre, 961, Nos. 179 and 180, Zurlauben and Desgrigny to Louvois,
and ft July, 1690.
4 And in France public opinion was not ambiguous at his return.
Jacque en partant de Dublin (bis)
Dit a Lauzun du matin (or ' sans chagrin ')
Prenez soin de ma couronne,
J'auray soin de ma personne.
Lampon, Lampon, Camarade, Lampon.
(Bibl. Nat. MS. fr. 12690).
* Guerre, 961, No. 180, Desgrigny to Louvois, ft July, 1690.
THE HAMILTONS AND THE WAR IN IRELAND 103
town that, according to Lauzun, could be taken with
roast apples. This first siege lasted from the beginning
of August till the end of the month, when William and his
army departed. John Hamilton was one of the general
officers inside Limerick ; whether Anthony, the former
Governor of Limerick, was with him is not certain but would
seem natural ; still, Boisseleau's * Relation ' of the siege
only mentions the younger brother. Possibly Anthony had
accompanied Tyrconnel and Lauzun when they retired
prudently from Limerick to Galway, while Boisseleau was
covering himself with glory, Sarsfield winning undying
fame by his daring capture of the English guns, and the
whole garrison repelling the attacks of the besiegers with
great bravery. As for John Hamilton, he did his duty
with marked ability and courage, and was warmly praised
by Boisseleau. 1
Intrigues and dissensions were rife among the Irish.
Lauzun exclaimed that he was suffering the pains of purga-
tory, and rather than serve in Ireland he would occupy
the meanest post in the French army. 2 He, for one, was
not sorry to leave Ireland with Tyrconnel and the French
troops shortly after the raising of the siege of Limerick.
They were preceded by Anthony Hamilton, who was sent
to James with the official news of the raising of the siege ;
at the same time he was to explain the reasons for Tyr-
connel's coming. With him had sailed Boisseleau, 3 the
gallant defender of Limerick, worn out with the cares of
the past month, heartily tired of his responsible task, and,
not unlike Lauzun, declaring that he would rather be a
simple foot soldier in France than a general in Ireland. 4
Before Tyrconnel left for France he proceeded to Limerick
to arrange for the conduct of affairs in his absence. Berwick
was appointed Commander-in-Chief, to be assisted by a
1 Sourches, Memoires, III, Appendix VIII, p. 516 (Relation de ce qui
s'est passe au siege de Limerick faite par M. de Boisseleau).
2 Guerre, 962, No. 162, to Louvois $, August, 1690.
3 Ib., Nos. 62, 172, 174.
4 " J'aimerois mieux porter le mousquet en France que d'estre general
en ce pai's, car ils m'ont pense faire devenir fol. . . . Plus je souffrois de
leurs impertinences ne songeant qu'asauver la place, plus ils s'estudioient
de me donner tous les chagrins possibles. . . . Ces gens-la n'aiment la
guerre qu'avec du desordre et sans discipline." (Ib., No. 61, to Louvois,
22 Sept.
104 ANTHONY HAMILTON
council of twelve officers, while a similar council was to
control civic affairs. Of the officers who were to assist
Berwick one was John Hamilton ; x Sarsfield was another.
The mention of these two names is sufficient to show that
peace could not possibly reign within the council ; John
Hamilton was naturally in Tyrconnel's interest ; Sarsfield
disliked Tyrconnel and his friends. Sarsfield's name was
last on the list and Tyrconnel would fain have avoided
appointing him, so it was said. The Irish army was divided
into two parties ; one for Tyrconnel ; the other for
Sarsfield. " Opposite interests and different prospects
induced conflicting councils. Natives . . . hopeless in
the event of an accommodation, had no fair prospect but
from a continuance of war and a separation from England,
which they calculated might be effected by French aid
and Irish valour. The O'Neals, Maguires, M'Guinesses,
M'Mahons, O'Ferrals, the Irish bishops and the discon-
tented officers, Sarsfield, the Luttrells, the Purcells formed
the strength of this party and were supported by the
common soldiers, enthusiasts in the cause of their country
and religion. Lord Tyrconnel headed the peace party,
supported by the Hamiltons, Talbots, Nugents, Dillons,
Burkes, Rices, Butlers, Sheldons, all of English descent."*
The Hamiltons, who had come to Ireland as recently as
the beginning of the seventeenth century, were considered
New Interest men, and the author of Macarice Excidium
expressly calls John Hamilton Berwick's ' Cilician ' (English)
director. 3
Arriving in France, Tyrconnel asked for help to enable
him to continue the war in Ireland, though it was alleged
by some that he had not set out with this intention. Things
went none too well in his absence. Cork and Kinsale fell
before Marlborough. Dispeace reigned at Limerick. Shortly
after Tyrconnel's departure the Irish officers decided that
the present form of government was illegal and a deputa-
tion, which included the officers Luttrell and Purcell, was
sent to France to ask for men and arms and to express
great dissatisfaction with Tyrconnel and the state of affairs
in Ireland. Amongst other things they accused Tyrconnel
1 Macarics Excidium, p. 58.
* O'Conor, Military Memoirs of the Irish Nation, p. 114.
8 Macarice Excidium, loc. cit.
THE HAMILTONS AND THE WAR IN IRELAND 105
of being ruled solely by his personal inclinations and not
at all by the interest of the King's service when appointing
men to important offices, an opinion which O' Kelly echoes
in his narrative, " to be a creature of Coridon's (Tyrconnel's)
was the only qualification requisite in those days to make
a compleat captain or an able statesman/' 1 Avaux, it will
be remembered, once remarked that Anthony Hamilton
did not deserve to be called an officer and had only been
made Major-General to please Tyrconnel. The Luttrells
and Purcell disparaged Tyrconnel's ' creatures ' to James,
and expressed particular dissatisfaction with Anthony
and Richard Hamilton. 2
James would fain have retained the dissatisfied officers,
as Lord Mount joy had been retained, but it would have
created too great hostility in Ireland. Before their return
two small vessels were sent to Limerick in October, " with
salt and some other necessaries, but without money, clothes
or shoes." The captain of one of the ships brought letters,
one for John Hamilton from James in the name of Louis,
the other for the Duke of Berwick, both promising further
relief, 3 and, in truth, the place was much in need of it. A
deserter from Limerick gave information that the Irish
were in so great distress that above two-thirds of them
would be glad to surrender, 4 and a letter written in December
by John Hamilton to King James said that the men were
ready to mutiny because of the want of all things necessary. 5
In November Sarsfield was warned by his spies that the
enemies, aware of the enfeebled state of the Irish, were
intending to cross the Shannon and to possess themselves
of Limerick and Galway. Information came from the
same source that there was an understanding between
William's army and some of the Irish who had promised
to deliver up the strong places. " Et a la verite," says
Sarsfield in a letter to Louvois, " il n'y a pas d'apparence
que les ennemis voulussent tenter au cceur de 1'hyver une
entreprise qu'ils n'estoient pas capables d'executer au plus
beau de 1'ete, a moins que d'y estre encouragez par quelques
1 Macarifs Excidium, p. 51.
2 Clarke, Life of James II, Vol. II, p. 423 ; O'Conor, Military Memoirs,
p. 117.
8 Historical MSS. Comm., Twelfth Report, Appendix, Part VIII, p. 303.
4 Ib.
6 Luttrell, Relation of State Affairs, II, p. 149.
io6 ANTHONY HAMILTON
traitres parmi nous." According to Sarsfield those accused
of corresponding with the enemy were John Hamilton,
Lord Riverstown, Judge Daly and Colonel Alexander
Macdonnell, and as far as these last three were concerned
Sarsfield was convinced of their guilt. 1 Riverstown and
Macdonnell were dismissed and Daly imprisoned ; the
enemy's attempt was unsuccessful.
In January Tyrconnel arrived with provisions, ammuni-
tion, clothes and money, but no men. Some French officers,
including the new commander, Saint -Ruth, followed
1691 him, but whether Anthony Hamilton came back to
Ireland is uncertain ; it would seem natural enough,
especially as he was not wanted in the Irish brigade serving
in France ; on the other hand, he had never been much of
a soldier and his unpopularity in Ireland may have kept
him in France. 2 The outlawries of the year 1691 include
the names of Anthony, Richard and John Hamilton, ' of
Dublin.' 3
Tyrconnel's return and Berwick's departure for France
did nothing to improve matters within the Irish camp.
Tyrconnel was ' mortally hated ' by the army and would
have been ' massacred ' without Sarsfield 's intervention,
so Sarsfield assured Louvois. 4 The provisions that had
1 Guerre, 1066, No. 187, Sarsfield to Louvois, ^| Feb., 1691.
Cf. Macarics Excidium, pp. 70-72, which agrees altogether with Sarsfield's
letter.
2 The capitulation of Limerick in October was signed by the following
general officers : D'Usson, Le Chevalier de Tesse, Lucan (Sarsfield), Jo.
Wauchope, Mark Talbot, La Tour Montfort, D. Sheldon, Carol. If Anthony
Hamilton had been at Limerick, he would have been one of the signatories.
3 Oct
(Guerre, 1081, No. 178, Limerick, -== - 1 , 1691.)
23 Sept.
3 D'Alton, King James Irish Army List, I, p. 194. Richard Hamilton's
name figures in the English Attainder Bill of 1689. Anthony with some
others was to have been ' put into a proclamation ' to be issued in pur-
suance of a clause then agreed to be added to the Attainder Bill, providing
that if the persons named in the proclamation surrendered themselves by
the 3oth of September they should be received under the protection of the
Government. The proposal seems, however, to have been dropped. (Hist.
MSS. Comm., i2th Report, Appendix, Part VI (House of Lords),
pp. 228-233.)
4 " Tyrconnel me fait mille caresses et professions d'amitie, maisily a
trop longtemps que je le connais pour ne scavoir pas le peu de foy que je
doisadj ouster a sesfaussesparolles. . . . II est trs jaloux et au desespoir de
mon credit et de 1'influence que j'ay sur 1'armee . . . mais ce perfide et
ingrat scait dans son ame que durant le sidge de Lymerick on 1'aurait
massacre sans moy et il n'ignore pas que j'ay empesche et me suis oppose
aux sollicitations pressantes de toute Tannee qui voulut absolument saisir
THE HAMILTONS AND THE WAR IN IRELAND 107
come in the French ships were insufficient. Tyrconnel,
writing to Louvois in April for help, exclaims that if the
fleet does not arrive within a week they will all surely die
of hunger. 1
Athlone was besieged in June and taken by surprise at
the end of the month. Saint-Ruth, hastily informed of the
enemy's unexpected attack, detached two brigades under
John Hamilton, now Major-General, to reinforce the
garrison, but John Hamilton found the enemy already in
possession of the ramparts and was forced to retire. 2 On
the I2th of July the battle of Aughrim was fought. John
Hamilton with Dorrington commanded the centre of the
infantry ; he was severely wounded and sent, a prisoner, to
Dublin, where Ginkel asked he might be well treated. 3
The unknown author of the Latin poem on the battle of
Aughrim, comparing John Hamilton with his brothers,
considers him * utilior Mavorti,' and describes him as
' natu minor, actis major/ 4 Dangeau records his death
on the 29th of October. 5 It had probably taken place
some time before this.
Meanwhile, Limerick had been besieged for a second
time. Tyrconnel had died in August, and in October the
treaty of Limerick was signed. The French officers with-
drew to their own country, and with them and Sarsfield came
quite an army of Irish soldiers, henceforth to serve in
France. Richard Hamilton had been imprisoned in Dublin
from the battle of the Boyne until January, 1691, when he
sa personne et me proclamer general en sa place. ... II est mortellement
hay de toute 1'armee a la reserve de trois majors-generaux et quelques uns
de ses nepveux." (Guerre, 1066, No. 211, March, 1691.)
1 Ib., No. 222, f April, 1691.
2 Berwick, Memoir es, p. 335. It must, however, be remembered that
B. was no longer in Ireland and therefore not an eye-witness of these things.
" Guerre, 1080, No. 168, Fumeron to Louvois, %$ July, 1691 ;
Gilbert, Jacobite Narrative, pp. 138, 148 ; Hist. MSS. Comm., 4th Report,
Appendix, p. 322.
4 Hinc alacer adverse generosum vulnere pectus
De tribus, utilior Mavorti, fratribus unus
Abripitur natu minor, actis major, Hamilton
Captivus, medicoque datur curandus inerti.
(Printed in S. T. Gilbert's Jacobite Narrative, p. 279.)
8 Journal, III, p. 424. John Hamilton left a widow, Elizabeth Macan
(de 1'encienne et illustre maison de Macan seigneur du Clanbrazil dans le
Comte d'Armac en Irlande) and one daughter, Margaret, who married a
Comte de Marmier in France. (Bibl. Nat., Pieces Originates , Vol. 1472,
No. 33,357, f. 17, verso and ms. fr. 32964, f. 85.)
io8 ANTHONY HAMILTON
was brought across to Chester guarded by two files of
musketeers. In Chester he was so strictly confined that,
according to a news-letter of the time, he was not even
allowed to write to his friends. Every precaution was taken
to prevent his escape. In April of the next year, 1692, he
was at last allowed to go to France and was there exchanged
for Lord Mount joy. 1
James was now hopefully planning a descent into England,
and even before Richard Hamilton arrived in France it
had been decided that he was to be one of the two
1692 Lieutenants-General who were to command the
expedition. The Irish soldiers under Sarsfield, the
other Lieutenant-General, and the Brigadiers Sheldon,
Galmoy and Wauchope, were encamped off La Hogue
and Havre de Grace. Richard Hamilton, arriving in Paris,
had only time to make his obeissance to Louis, who received
him very graciously the enemy, Louvois, was dead and
to spend two days with his sister, Madame de Gramont,
who complained bitterly of the shortness of the visit. 2
Then he joined James and his forces.
Unfortunately, after some enforced inaction, Tourville
and his fleet were beaten in a desperate fight off La Hogue,
all hopes of an invasion were at an end, and James finally
returned to Saint-Germain-en-Laye in June with Richard
Hamilton, while the other general officers joined the French
army. The birth of his daughter on the 28th gave him ' at
least some domestick comfort.' 8
1 Guerre, 1066, No. 188 (Nouvelles d'Irlande, Feb., 1691) ; Cal. St. P..
Dom., 1690-1691, pp. 220, 229, 232, 233, 248, 249, 260 ; 1691-1692,
pp. 197, 207. Luttrell, Relation of State Affairs, II, p. 307.
2 Dangeau, IV, pp. 61, 73 ; F6nelon, Correspondance, VI, p. 240.
3 Clarke, Life of James II, Vol. II, p. 496.
CHAPTER VII
MADAME DE GRAMONT.
IF Richard Hamilton was exchanged for Lord Mount joy,
it was chiefly due to the exertions of Madame de
Gramont. The Countess was passionately attached
to her brothers and unwearied in their interest. It
was she who pressed Madame to speak to Charles II in
favour of James Hamilton ; when James died, she urged
Arlington to make some provision for his children ; she
jealously resented that Dongan, and not one of her brothers,
should be given George Hamilton's regiment, and later on,
she made Ormonde obtain a letter of recommendation from
Charles in behalf of Richard Hamilton, to whom Charles
had done so great a wrong, she said, in putting forward
Dongan ; she quarrelled with Louvois for not advancing
her brothers in the French service ; and, at the time of
the war in Ireland, her anxiety left her no repose, though the
gentle Fenelon urged her to accept this trial as sent from
God, and though no less a personage than Louis himself
took an interest in her troubles and went so far as to send
her himself the earliest news available that came from
Ireland. 1
As soon as it became known that Richard had been
made a prisoner, she sent a petition to England in her own
and her husband's name, asking that her brother might
be exchanged for Lord Mount joy. Her request was not
immediately granted, for as long as there was any chance
of prolonging the war in Ireland, Louis was not willing to
let his prisoner go. 2 Bitter were the complaints she poured
1 Cf. supra, p. 50 ; Cartwright, Madame, p. 218 ; Hist. MSS. Comm.,
Ormonde MSS., N.S., VII, pp. 84, 85 ; Fenelon, Correspondance, VI,
p. 235 ; Maintenon, Correspondance Gbntvale, III, pp. 208-209.
1 Cal. St. P., Dom., 1690-1691, p. 91 ; Dangeau, III, p. 431,
109
no ANTHONY HAMILTON
out to her spiritual director Fenelon, and bitter were the
words she spoke against the dethroned King and Queen,
whom she accused of heartless indifference, of abandoning
her brothers, the one a prisoner, the others facing death in
Ireland. At the court of Saint -Germain feelings had com-
pletely turned against the Hamiltons. " God," replied
Fenelon, " is trying you. Whosoever loveth father or mother
or brother more than Me is not worthy of Me. Be silent,
worship the hand that chastens, let your lips but unclose to
say, ' I have deserved it all.' ' " True," said the Countess,
" God has stricken down my pride, but ought not the guilty
alone to suffer ? Why must the same blow level the inno-
cent ? " " Know, Madam," wrote back Fenelon, " that there
is none just before God, and how can you tell but that the
disgrace which humiliates you will not also lay low your
brother under the almighty hand of God ? Some day per-
haps you will rejoice together in that which is now affliction.
Blessed is he who would be comforted only so far as God
is willing to give comfort."
And so the once haughty Countess de Gramont
endeavoured to bear the disgrace of her brothers with
Christian humility and resignation. Those who were
familiar with her knew how foreign anything like humility
was to her character. ' Fiere a outrance,' her brother
describes her, and two anecdotes recorded in 1669 in the
letters of the Marquis de Saint-Maurice bear out this observa-
tion. On one occasion when the ladies were playing in the
Queen's apartment, Madame de Gramont took the tabouret
of the Comtesse de Soissons who had just gone out. When
Madame de Soissons returned she demanded her seat, but
Madame de Gramont refused haughtily to give it up.
Madame de Soissons replied by a sneering laugh which
roused the Count de Gramont to exclaim : " Madame, on
ne cloue pas ici les chaises, ma femme demeurera la, nous
sommes d'aussi bonne maison que vous." This temporary
victory was not, however, the end of the affair ; the King
blamed the conduct of the Gramonts and obliged them
to apologize to Madame de Soissons. On another occasion
the Queen was going out in her coach and Madame de
Gramont got in after her. The Queen asked her to take a
seat in the second coach, but the Countess boldly refused to
let herself be displaced, declaring that she was not of a
rank to go in the coach of the suite, and the good Queen let
MADAME DE GRAMONT in
her have her will without saying anything more. 1 It is not
surprising to find Madame de Sevigne noting about the same
time that Madame de Gramont no longer enjoyed the
public favour she once did. 2
Young and beautiful she had come to France, young and
beautiful at the French court, clever and witty as well,
she could not escape being talked about. Living largely
in Madame's society at first, her name was soon linked with
Monsieur's. La Gramont pretendoit donner
De 1' Amour a notre grand prince,
ran one of the numerous chansons that circulated at court
in 1666. 3 Monsieur, according to the same source did not
choose to figure as the lover of Madame de Gramont, and
failing Monsieur, La belle Gramont took to his first ecuyer,
D'Effiat. Seignelay, though savouring of the bourgeois,
was next mentioned as having found favour in her sight ; 4
the gallant Cavoie was supposed to be violently in love with
her ; 5 the Comte du Channel, according to the public,
was an over-intimate friend, 6 and the Marechal de la
Feuillade made her the object of a cautiously dissimulated
passion, dissimulated because Louis, he said, did not like
* les amoureux ' the reign of Madame de Maintenon was
at hand. 7
1 " La comtesse de Gramont est anglaise," so Saint-Maurice explains,
" elle le porte haut parce qu'elle est parente du roi, mais on s'en
moque ici ; cela lui fait faire bien des pas de mauvaise grace." (Lettres
sur la Cour de Louis, XIV, pp. 374-375.)
2 Lettres, II, p. 285.
3 Bibl. Nat., ms. fr. 12618, p. 67.
4 The abbe Primi Visconti ascribes Gramont's hatred of all the ministers
to the fact that Seignelay's father was one of them. (Memoires, pp. 52-55.)
5 Bussy-Rabutin professed inability to understand Cavoie's feelings,
" De la maniere dont on m'ecrit de la Comtesse de Gramont, il faut etre
un fat pour avoir une passion pour elle, ce n'est pas par sa beaute qu'elle
en est indigne mais par sa conduite." (Lettres, IV, pp. 102-104, May, 1678.)
6 " De la Comtesse de Gramont
Plaignons la decadence,
Jady rien n'etoit assez bon
Pour sa rare excellence,"
is the chansonnier's comment (Bibl. Nat. ms. fr. 12688, p. 235). Du
Channel, it is true, came of no great family, but he had managed to make
his way at court and was greatly esteemed by the King, even the most
important ladies, says Saint-Simon (V, p. 382), were not averse to his
homages.
7 Primi Visconti, who records his confidences, adds, " La mode veut
maintenant qu'un courtisan amoureux soit considere comme ridicule. . . .
Ainsi, peu a peu, par la politique du roi, la cour devient un couvent."
(Memoires, pp. 219, 220.)
ii2 ANTHONY HAMILTON
All these friendships of the Countess were a source of
interest to the curious, but none would have dared to allude
to them in her presence. " C'etoit une femme," says
Saint-Simon, " qui avoit eu ses galanteries, mais qui n'avoit
pas laisse de se respecter et qui, ayant bee et ongles, 1'etait
fort a la cour et jusque par les ministres qu'elle cultivait
meme tres peu." 1 But it was not only her attitude of
proud independence which kept all insolence at bay, it was
doubtless to the King's friendship that she owed her un-
assailable position in part. Louis had made her dame du
palais and had heaped on her and her husband pensions
and favours of all kinds. 2 Such proceedings could hardly
fail to rouse jealousy. At the time of that extraordinary
Affaire des Poisons which spread a superstitious panic in
France, not unlike the one caused by the Popish Plot in
England, it came to light that many women Madame de
Montespan was one of them resorted to witchcraft, as it
was styled, and obtained from a woman named Voisin
mysterious drugs when they wished to succeed in any
particular enterprise. Some of these drugs would win a
person's affection, others could bring about the person's
death in a few days. Le Sage, the accomplice of this woman,
when tried, confessed amongst other things, that a certain
Madame de Polignac had asked him to help her get rid of
Mademoiselle de la Vallire, because she wished to succeed
her in the affections of the King. The lady, he added, told
him that the Comtesse de Gramont had the same intentions
as she, and besought him not to pronounce any ' magic
words ' in her favour. 3
1 Memoir es, XI, p. no.
2 M. Boislisle enumerates them in full (Saint-Simon, XIV, pp. 563-565).
In spite of all these favours the Gramonts were constantly in financial
difficulties. Things were slightly better after the death of the Marquise
de Saint-Chaumont, Gramont's sister, who left them all her money. Cf.
Sourches, III, pp. 194-195. "Aout, 1688 . . . elle institua [le Comte de
Gramont] son legataire universel ; mais en m6me temps, elle donna a la
Comtesse sa femme une pension viagaire de 3000 livres [Fort sagement,
says the unknown annotator, car si le Comte de Gramont etoit venu a
mourir ou si le Roi efit retire les pensions qu'il leur donnait, la pauvre
comtesse auroit ete en danger de mourir de faim] a chacune des deux
Miles de Gramont 60,000 livres pour les marier [Fort sagement encore,
says the annotator, car elles n'avaient pas un sol de bien] le tout neanmoins
sans qu'aucun des legataires put aliener le fonds [Encore plus sagement
car le Comte de Gramont etoit homme a tout depenser]."
8 Ravaillon, Archives de la Bastille, VI, p. 33 ; cf. Sevign, VI, p. 97 n. (
and Funck Brentano, Le Drame fas Poisons (Paris, 1907),
MADAME DE GRAMONT 113
In 1679 Madame de Sevigne hints at her being a kind of
rival of Madame de Montespan's, 1 and from 1685 onwards
Dangeau's journal shows us Madame de Gramont constantly
in the King's society. When he went to Marly she was
invariably among the privileged few that accompanied him,
when he went to Fontainebleau or to Compiegne she was
in his carriage ; at Versailles, she lodged in the palace,
was present at his suppers, shared in the lotteries, drove
about the park with him and accompanied him to Trianon. 2
Her daughters and her niece, George Hamilton's daughter,
were maids of honour to the dauphine and often admitted
to the King's society. 3
She was no longer beautiful when Saint-Simon knew her.
The portrait by Lely in the National Portrait Gallery is a
melancholy contrast to the Hampton Court portrait. 4 She
herself writes wistfully to the Duke of Ormonde in 1682 :
" ie n'aurois pour me mortifier qu'a regarder mon miroir
qui me fait apercevoir chaque iour de quelque nouvelle iniure
du temps." 5 But Saint-Simon was impressed by her
queenly presence, and the various portraits he has drawn
of her show that he admired her as much as he despised
her husband. " On ne pouvoit avoir plus d'esprit," he
writes, " et malgre sa hauteur plus d'agrement, plus de
politesse, plus de choix," and elsewhere he remarks that she
had more wit and grace than any other woman at court.
The King's admiration for her is mentioned again and
again, " toujours tres bien avec le Roi, qui goutoit son
1 Lettres, V, p. 363 ; VI, pp. 97, 98.
2 Dangeau, I, 39 196, 205, 217, 228, 229, 266, 348, 354, 365, 372, 380,
382, 390, 400, and so on through the first seven or eight volumes of the
journal. Vol. XIX contains the Index.
8 Ib., I, pp. 272, 332, 341, 356; Maintenon, Corr. Generate, II, p. 371 ;
Saint-Simon, XIV, p. 73. When Madame de Gramont's second daughter
became maid of honour in 1685 Louis gave the Countess 2000 crowns to
help her equip her daughter, because the Count was absent in England,
where, ' contrary to his habits,' he lost large sums of money. (Sourches, I,
P- 3II-)
4 The date assigned to the portrait is ' about 1669,' which would mean
that it was painted only seven or eight years after the Hampton Court Lely.
It hardly seems possible that the Countess should have changed so rapidly.
In 1670 the Prince of Tuscany remarked that she and her sister-in-law were
without doubt the most beautiful women at the French court (cf. supra,
p. 36, n. 3). The portrait in no wise bears out his remark. In 1674 Primi
Visconti describes her as ' blonde et belle, grande et femme de beaucoup
d'esprit.' (MJmoires, p. 52.)
6 Hist. MSS. Comm., Ormonde MSS., N.S., VII, p. 424,
I
H4 ANTHONY HAMILTON
esprit et qu'elle avoit accoutume' a ses manieres libres . . .
le Roi s'amusoit fort avec elle. . . . Le Roi avait pour elle
un gout que la jalousie de Madame de Maintenon ni les
tares de jansenisme ne purent jamais vaincre."
One cannot resist quoting Saint-Simon at length : "La
Comtesse de Gramont qui avoit le port et Tair d'une reine,
en avoit aussi toutes les manieres. Rien de plus sale, de
plus instruit, de plus digne, de plus traye pour ses com-
pagnies ni de plus recherche a la cour. Son dedain naturel
etoit tempere par une piete haute et eclairee qui en avoit
fait une veritable penitent e. . . . Toute la cour la con-
sideroit avec distinction et jusqu'aux ministres comptoient
avec elle/' 1
No wonder that Madame de Maintenon was jealous of
her, as Saint-Simon delights to point out ; no wonder that
Madame de Maintenon's niece, Madame de Caylus, remarked
that she was ' sou vent Angloise insupportable,' and that
her haughty air was the only stable thing about her, though
she prided herself on the firmness of her sentiments and the
constancy of her friendships. 2 But even Madame de Caylus
is forced to admit her wit. Madame de Maintenon, so her
old enemy is pleased to tell us, did her best to undermine
the King's friendship for her rival ; her endeavours were of
no avail ; Madame de Gramont, on the other hand, was
quite aware of Madame de Maintenon's dislike, but nothing
in the world would have induced her to make any con-
ciliatory advances to Madame de Maintenon, 3 who, so we
are informed, had to put up with her presence because she
could not help herself. Her niece, on the contrary, tells
us that she insisted on Madame de Gramont 's company,
1 " C'etoit une personne haute, glorieuse, mais sans pretention et sans
entreprise, qui se sentait fort, mais qui savoit rendre, avec beaucoup
d'esprit, un tour charmant, beaucoup de sel et qui choisissoit fort ses
compagnies, encore plus ses amis." (Saint-Simon, VI, pp. 216-217 ; XI,
pp. iio-in ; XVI, pp. 72, 73, 501.)
a Souvenirs, p. 127.
8 Elle sentoit 1'aversion et la jalousie de Madame de Maintenon ; elle
1'avoit vue sortir de terre et surpasser rapidement les plus hauts cedres,
jamois elle n'avoit pu se resoudre a lui faire sa cour. . . . Madame de
Maintenon ne laissoit pas de lui montrer sou vent sa jalousie par des traits
d'humeur, quoique mesureset la Comtesse qui etait fort haute et en avoit
tout 1'air et le maintien . . . ne se donnoit pas la peine de les ramasser et
montroit par son peu d'empressement pour elle qu'elle ne lui rendoit le
peu qu'elle faisoit que par respect pour le goQt du Roi." (Saint-Simon, XI,
Hi ; XVI, 216-217.)
MADAME DE GRAMONT 115
because she wished to please the King and because she was
anxious to encourage the Countess in her piety and further
her ' conversion/ a conversion founded on that of her friend,
Du Charmers. 1
Du Charmel had been leading a life of great prosperity
and ease at court, he had friends and fortune in plenty,
nothing seemed lacking to his happiness. One day there fell
into his hands a book which even Bussy-Rabutin calls
divine, namely, Abbadie's De la Verite de la Religion Chre-
tienne. Henceforth he gave up everything and lived far
away from court a life of penitence and good works. 2
Abbadie's book was first printed in 1684, and as Madame
de Maintenon in a letter of 1683 3 mentions the new attitude
of the Countess, it is not impossible that it was she who
caused Du Charmel to read the treatise. Under the auspices
of Madame de Maintenon the court was beginning to enter
into that phase of extreme piety which marked the last
years of the reign of Louis XIV, a piety sincere in the case
of many courtiers, but forced and diplomatic in a great
many more. J. B. Rousseau was not the only one of whom
it could be said that he was David at court and Petronius
in town. " Apart from piety/' exclaimed Madame de
La Fayette, " there is now no hope of salvation either at
court or in the life to come/' 4 and, in the letter above men-
tioned, Madame de Maintenon thinks that the Queen (she
had died that year), must have asked God for the conversion
of the whole court. The King's conversion is admirable,
and the ladies who seemed furthest away from such things
do not leave church. Madame de Montchevreuil, Mesdames
de Chevreuse et de Beauvilliers, the Princesse de Harcourt,
in a word, all the devotes, are not more often at church than
Mesdames de Montespan, de Thianges, the Comtesse de
Gramont, the Duchesse du Lude and Madame de Soubise.
The plain Sundays are now as the Easter days used to be. 6
1 Souvenirs, loc. cit. 2 Saint-Simon, V, pp. 382, 383.
3 Correspondance Generate, II, pp. 325, 326.
4 Memoires de la Cour de France, p. 229.
5 Cf. Saint-Evremond's remark to Ninon de Lenclos, " Je n'attends
que votre exemple pour etre devot. Vous vivez dans un pays ou Ton a
de merveilleux avantages pour se sauver. Le vice n'y est guere moins
oppose a la mode qu'ala vertu." (CEuvres (Amsterdam, 1726), V, p. 195.)
Some years later, in 1698, Matthew Prior, coming to Paris, wrote to the
Earl of Albemarle : " Toute la cour est sombre et triste ; la bigoterie et le
menage y regne a un point que les filles a genoux disent leur Paternostre
n6 ANTHONY HAMILTON
In the case of the Countess de Gramont there was no
insincerity whatever. Her pride would have prevented
her from stooping down to an artificial Christianity, to be
adopted because it was fashionable. The years that she had
spent at Port Royal had not failed to leave their mark on
her. 1 " II lui en etoit reste un germe," says Saint-Simon,
" qui la rappela a une solide devotion avant meme que
1'age, le monde, ni le miroir, la pussent faire penser a changer
de conduite." 2 But it was no easy thing for the Countess.
Madame de Caylus, a severe judge, remarked that anything
like piety was absolutely foreign to her character. She
speaks of the continual struggle that took place between her
reason and her inclinations, and she considers her conduct
after her conversion unequal. 3 Madame de Gramont was
not one of those to whom a phlegmatic acquiescence, a
good-natured submission, came easily.
About 1684 ' the desire to give herself wholly to God '
made her place herself under the spiritual guidance of
Fenelon. 4 He was not her confessor, but he undertook to
direct her, and for long the Countess corresponded with
him. The letters preserved only those of Fenelon unfortu-
nately cover a period of fourteen years, up to the end of
Fenelon knew all the difficulties that lay before
dans les galeries comme dans un couvent, et les gardes du corps, mettant
leurs armes a part, nouent des f ranges comme les filles en Angleterre."
(Hist. MSS. Comm., MSS. of the Marquis of Bath, III, p. 195.)
1 Her brother, after describing her, says : " Son esprit 6tait a peu prds
comme sa figure. Ce n'etait point par ces vivacites importunes . . .
qu'elle cherchait a briller dans la conversation. Elle evitait encore plus
cette lenteur affectee dans le discours dont la pesanteur assoupit ; mais
sans se presser de parler, elle disait ce qu'il fallait et pas davantage. Elle
avait tout le discernement possible pour le solide et le faux brillant, et
sans se parer a tout propos des lumie'res de son esprit, elle etait reserv6e,
mais trs juste dans ses decisions." Sainte-Beuve quotes this account,
and with his usual penetration adds, " N'est-ce pas la, trait pour trait,
les qualites d'esprit voulues par Port Royal, bien qu'ici d'un usage un peu
transpose ? " (Port Royal, II, p. 108.)
2 Memoires, XI, p. in. 8 Souvenirs, p. 129.
* Fenelon, Correspondance, VI, Avertissement, p. 209.
6 After Madame de Gramont's death these letters passed into the hands
of her daughter, Lady Stafford, and from her to the Empress Maria Theresa.
Some of the letters are endorsed in the hand of the Empress, e.g. " Lettre
de M. L. de F. sur les peines qui viennent de la part du prochain " ; " Escrit
de M. L. de F. sur la sensibilite dans les croix." (Corr., VI, pp. 210, 262,
270.)
For the above account of Fenelan and Madame de Gramont see Fenelon,
Corr., VI, pp. 211-278, and cf. Sainte-Beuve, Cauteries du Lundi, X,
PP- 23-25.
MADAME DE GRAMONT 117
his penitent. She had much to fear both from without and
from within. " Au dehors le monde vous rit, et la partie
du monde la plus capable de nourrir 1'orgueil donne au
votre ce qui peut le flatter, par les marques de consideration
que vous recevez a la cour. Au dedans vous avez a sur-
monter le gout d'une vie delicate, un esprit hautain et
dedaigneux avec une longue habitude de dissipation." He
was fearless in the diagnosis of her failings ; her pride, her
exceeding intolerance, her lack of gentleness and charity
he forced her to acknowledge them all, " Fair de mepris et
de hauteur, 1'esprit de critique et de moquerie, . . . ce
genre d'orgueil facile a blesser, moqueur, dedaigneux, fier,
jaloux de vouloir tout pour soi et toujours implacable sur
les defauts d'autrui." One can well imagine Anthony
Hamilton's sister to have been thus, a woman of no common
culture and understanding, quick-witted, critical, caustic,
sharp-tongued, irritated by the mediocrity of those around
her and delighting in the use of polite ridicule and polished
sarcasm. It is to Anthony Hamilton's sister that Fenelon
recommends silence before all things ; silence, because, in
the midst of the amusements at court, at table or in the
company of one who delights to talk on, the heart can have
its intercourse with God ; but chiefly because it was a
privation to her who enjoyed to the full the pleasures of a
conversation, not charitable but seasoned with graceful
irony and malicious wit.
He exhorts her to find time for prayer and meditation,
to be courageous, to be patient, to accept the distractions
of court life in all confidence as a trial sent from God. He
himself lived at court, charged with the education of the
Due de Bourgogne, and he knew how hollow was all the
pomp and splendour. " II y faut un visage riant, mais le
cceur ne rit guere. Si peu qu'il reste de desirs et de sensi-
bilite d'amour propre, on a toujours ici de quoi vieillir :
on n'a pas ce qu'on veut ; on a ce qu'on ne voudroit pas. On
est peine de ses malheurs, et quelque fois du bonheur
d'autrui ; on meprise les gens avec lesquels on passe sa vie
et on court apres leur estime. On est importune, et on
seroit bien fache de ne 1'etre pas, et de demeurer en solitude."
There is one thing he would have her aim at, simplicity in
all ; he upbraids her gently for her excessive scruples, her
false humility, for her desire to seek out great things to do
in the service of God when nothing is small or paltry, if
n8 ANTHONY HAMILTON
done for His sake ; above all he would have a greater
simplicity of faith. " Je crains pour vous une devotion
lumineuse, haute, qui sous pretexte d'aller au solide en
lecture et en pratique, nourisse en secret je ne sais quoi
de grand et de contraire a Jdsus Christ enfant, simple, et
meprise des sages du siecle." 1
The worry and bitterness caused by her brother's fate,
the humiliation of a disfiguring disease to which she would
have preferred the severest pain, tjhe anxiety from which
she suffered during a serious illness of her husband's all
met with the immediate sympathy of her director, always
ready to answer her letters or to meet her in the lodgings
of Madame de Chevreuse or Madame de Beauvilliers, or to
visit the Comte de Gramont during his ill -health. Not the
least trial to her must have been the curious interest with
which the courtiers observed the change and the endeavours
of the masterful, haughty Countess to love all things for
the sake of God. In the end of 1687 the conscientious
Dangeau records that Madame de Gramont is wholly given
up to piety, and that though she has concealed it for long,
she now no longer makes a secret of it, 2 and in 1695, when
she was suffering from another attack of her disease, people
marvelled to see with what courage and cheerfulness she
bore all her ills. 3
With the necessarily waning influence of F&ielon, involved
in the affaire du Quietisme and now Archbishop of Cambrai,
her relations with Port Royal grew much more marked.
While she had an apartment in the convent of the Madeleine
and while the English nuns of the Immaculate Conception
counted her amongst their friends and benefactors, 4 yet it
1 One is reminded of Madame de Maintenon's remarks on Madame de
Caylus' conversion which had, it should be added, taken place under the
auspices of the Pere de La Tour, known for his Jansenist sympathies :
" J'aurois ete ravie, si je 1'avois vue simple, estimant la piete partout,
lisant tout ce qui est bon sans prevention, et se tenant meme a la plus
grande simplicit6, qui est ce qui convient anotre sexe." (Corr. Generate,
IV, p. 390.)
Journal, II, p. 53. S6vign6, X, p. 329.
4 Cf. Diary of the Blue Nuns (Cathol. Record Soc. Publ., Vol. VIII,
London, 1910), p. 35, cf. p. 52. " Our wall next to the Highway being very
old and directive And the musketeers who were established our neer naigh-
bours for their conveniency had raised the highway that thos passed could
with eas look in to our Inclosure which gave much paine to the last Abbesse
and the rest of the Religious, she often solicited the Cardinal de Noyle who
promissed to give orders for it. This year having more leisure he spoak
to Md Mantenon and the Contesse of Grammon also had the last year laid
MADAME DE GRAMONT 119
was to the community of Port Royal that she felt most
drawn. With all her faults Madame de Gramont had some
remarkable qualities. She may have been overbearing and
imperious, but she never abandoned a friend. No disgrace
of Fenelon's could diminish her affection and veneration,
on the contrary, as Fenelon said, under circumstances
which caused others to become oblivious of his existence
she multiplied her attentions. 1 In the same way she had
always defended Port Royal. She never forgot what she
owed the gentle nuns 2 and her daughter, Marie Elisabeth,
was sent to them for her education. After the death of
the Duchess of Longueville in 1679, an influential friend of
Port Royal, steps were once more taken towards humiliating
and ultimately suppressing the community. The Arch-
bishop of Paris, Harlay, suddenly appeared at Port-Royal
des Champs and ordered all pensionnaires to be sent back
to their parents within a fortnight. Amongst the girls
who were sent home was Marie Elisabeth de Gramont, then
aged eleven. At Versailles the courtiers, curious to see one
who had been brought up in the famed establishment, were
struck by the grave and quiet demeanour of the child ; they
plied her with questions and were amazed by her fearless
answers. 3
It was on this occasion that Madame de Gramont took
upon herself to approach the King on the subject of the
persecutions. She and others, she said, could not under-
stand why these saintly women were made to suffer, nor
was she ashamed to confess that the nuns had fed her,
clothed her and educated her for seven or eight years when
her family had been in the utmost poverty. But the only
answer vouchsafed was that Port Royal was a place of
' assemblies and cabals.' 4
before her the danger we were in and she at the same time joyning with
him that she gave orders to her to let Mr. Chemilar with all diligence build
the wall from our outer gat to the end of the garden. . . . She also maid
two ovens and so accomidated the hen hous that we wash oure cloaths
they maid a garet to dry them in also."
1 Corr., VI, p. 277. "C'est le pur amour, que d'aimer les gens qui ne
sont plus a la mode."
2 " Elle en avoit conserve tout le goftt et le bon, a travers les egarements
de la jeunesse, de la beaute, du grand monde et de quelques galanteries
sans que la faveur ni le danger de la perdre 1'aient jamais pu detacher de
Pattachement intime de Port Royal." (Saint-Simon, XVI, p. 72.)
3 Sainte-Beuve, Port Royal, V, pp. 182-184.
4 Port Royal, loc. tit.
120 ANTHONY HAMILTON
The friends of Port Royal were Madame de Gramont's
friends. She corresponded with the Abbe de Ranee, 1 she
sought out the pious Du Fosse, at that time continuing
M. de Sacy's work on the Bible, and he was heard to remark
that there was more to be gained than to be lost in conversa-
tion with the lady ; 2 during Nicole's last illness she sent
him some gouttes d'Angleterre which for a time alleviated
his sufferings ; for Racine she had a great esteem and a
goodwill which she extended to his son, 3 and through
Racine she knew Boileau, with whom she corresponded and
whom, like Racine, she received at her house ; 4 her old
friends, Cavoie and Du Channel, were firm partisans of
Port Royal. When Racine died, in 1699, she mourned him
sincerely ; she had visited him almost daily during his last
sickness, and meeting, shortly after, M. Willard, another
adherent of the community, she exclaimed with tears in
her eyes, " Alas, how much have we of this court lost in
such a friend ! For all of us here who thought seriously
about our salvation, looked to him for advice and ex-
ample." 6 Louville, the confidant of Philip V, considered
the Countess one of the chief supporters of the Jansenist
cabal, 6 and the second Madame confessed that her partiality
for the nuns of Port Royal was entirely due to the influence
of Madame de Gramont. 7 It was a well-known fact that
in her room, at the convent of the Madeleine, hung portraits
of Jansenius, Arnauld, M. de Sacy and others. 8
According to Saint-Simon Madame de Maintenon hoped
greatly that this veneration for Port Royal would put an
end to the friendship of the King and the Countess, but
she tried in vain to bring about a rupture. 9 In 1696, how-
1 Of La Trappe. Maintenon, Corr. Gin.. IV, p. 120.
1 Port Royal, II, pp. 108-109.
8 Racine, Corr. (CEuvres, Ed. des Grands Ecrivains, Paris, 1888, Vol. VII)
pp. 185, 186, 243, 244, 297, 313, 318, etc.
4 Ib., pp. 105, 106, 140. It should be added that the authenticity of
the first letter has been questioned.
8 Port Royal, VI, pp. 258, 259.
8 Memoires Secrets (Paris, 1818, 2 vols.), II, pp. 89, 90.
* Maintenon, Corr. Gen., IV, p. 190. 8 Ib.
9 " Elle y echoua toujours avec un extreme depit ; la Comtesse s'en
tiroit avec tant d'esprit et de graces, souvent avec tant de liberte, que les
reproches du Roi se tournoient a rien, et qu'elle n'en etoit que mieux et
plus familire avec lui jusqu'a hasarder quelque fois des regards altiers a
Madame de Maintenon, et quelques plaisanteries salees jusqu'a 1'amer-
tume." (Saint-Simon, XI, pp. in, 112.)
MADAME DE GRAMONT 121
ever, the Countess requested Madame de Maintenon to
ask the King to allow her to spend the Easter week at
Port Royal. Madame de Maintenon the story is hers
asked her what she meant by taking such a thing into her
head and at that particular moment, and assured her that
this request would meet with great disapproval. Madame
de Gramont replied that she had never dared to do it in
the lifetime of M. de Harlay, the late Archbishop of Paris,
who had just been succeeded by M. de Noailles. Madame
de Maintenon was about to answer that the new archbishop
thought no more favourably of the Jansenists than Harlay
had done, but she considered that, after all, it was better
any opposition should come directly from the King. And
as she had supposed, Louis was exceedingly annoyed that
any one should dare to approach him with such a request. 1
Still, Madame de Gramont, as Fenelon points out, 2 had
before her the example of Racine who frequently and
openly went to Port Royal and never fared the worse for it.
The year that Racine died, she resolved to take matters into
her own hands and quietly went to spend a week at Port
Royal. The King, who enjoyed her company, at once
noticed her absence and was soon informed where she had
disappeared to. In the case of anyone else, says Saint-
Simon, it would have been a crime past forgiveness. As
it was, the King was extremely angry. Meeting the Count
de Gramont he told him ' fort aigrement ' what he thought
of the occurrence, and ordered him to repeat his words
to his wife ; Madame de Gramont apologized, her apologies
were ill received ; her name was struck off the list of the
ladies who were to accompany the King to Marly, for the
King remarked that Marly and Port Royal were incom-
patible ; the Countess, who had always gone where the
King went, had to repair to Paris. Her disgrace was the
talk of the town. As the Count was not included in the
sentence, Madame de Gramont sent him to Marly with a
letter to the King in which she expressed her sorrow at
having grieved him, but nothing would induce her to write
to Madame de Maintenon. The King merely told the
Count that his wife could not possibly have ignored his
dislike of a community avowedly Jansenist, a sect which
was an abomination to him like all other " novelties in
1 Maintenon, Corr. G6n6rale, IV, p. 90.
2 Corr., I, p. 81.
122 ANTHONY HAMILTON
matters of religion/' Nor was the Countess included in
the next voyage de Marly. After a month, however, Louis
resolved to pardon her and told her husband that she might
come back to Versailles ; there, he received her privately
at Madame de Maintenon's, ' scolded ' her, and though she
refused to ' abjure ' Port Royal, they became reconciled,
on condition that she would indulge in no further ' dis-
parades ' to Port Royal, as the King expressed it. And so,
says Saint-Simon, their relations were closer than ever, to
the great displeasure of Madame de Maintenon. 1
Not that the King had forgotten Madame de Gramont's
predilection for Port Royal, for if on one occasion he jestingly
ordered the Comte de Gramont to read the Augustinus of
Jansenius and to ascertain whether the five famous proposi-
tions were really contained in the book, it was not only
because of the ignorance of the former Abbe. The Count,
it may be added, never at a loss for an answer, replied forth-
with that if they were actually in the book it could only
be ' incognito.' 2
When Felix, the surgeon-in-chief, died in 1703, a small
property of his, les Moulineaux, which lay within the
grounds of Versailles, fell vacant and the King at once
gave it to Madame de Gramont, a present which caused
no little talk and probably no little heart-burning. " It
is certain," writes a lady of the court, " that the King
treats the Countess de Gramont marvellously well, and
that is sufficient to make all the world turn greatly to her." 3
It became the fashion for the court to repair thither, in
fact it was part of the bel air to be an habitue, and a dis-
grace not to have been there, for Madame de Gramont was
not over easy of access ; " n'y allait pas qui voulait," says
Saint-Simon. The Duchesse de Bourgogne and the other
princesses were there constantly, the English court
honoured the Countess with its visits, and some who for
Madame de Maintenon's sake would fain have refrained
from making an appearance, did not dare to stay away,
for the King kept himself informed of those who went
and who did not, and openly commented on the conduct of
1 Saint-Simon, XI, p. 112 ; XVI, pp. 217, 218 ; Dangeau, VII, pp. 104,
106, 120; Sainte-Beuve, Port Royal, VI, pp. 163-165- Fenelon Corr.,
I, p. 81.
* Port Royal, II, p. no.
* Mme de Coulanges, letter printed in Sevigne, X, p. 500.
MADAME DE GRAMONT 123
the latter. Madame de Maintenon's displeasure is described
with great satisfaction by Saint-Simon, who points out
that the King, in acting thus, was determined to show he
was not governed by Madame de Maintenon. So numerous
were the visitors that Gramont, half in jest, half in earnest,
remarked that he would soon be obliged to send the King
the accounts for all the dinners that were given. 1
Felix had called his house les Moulineaux, the Countess
changed the name to Pontalie. " Why Pontalie, Madam ? "
asked the courtiers. And her brother made answer in a
story which explained the origin of the name and which,
he said gravely, was based on the researches of the learned
Mabillon. But this is anticipating.
1 Saint - Simon, XI, p. 113; Sevigne, X, pp. 499, 500; Hamilton,
(Euvres, III, p. 356.
CHAPTER VIII
1692
THE HAMILTONS IN EXILE.
p -^HE two Hamilton brothers, Anthony and Richard,
and their sister-in-law, the Duchess of Tyrconnel,
belonged to the melancholy little court of ' the
-*- good man who had lost three kingdoms for the
sake of a Mass/ 1 Lady Tyrconnel was one of the ladies
of the Bedchamber, and Richard Hamilton, first one of
the gentlemen of the Bedchamber, was soon, as early as
1695 at least, made Master of the Wardrobe with a salary
of 400 pistoles. 2 Anthony had no functions at court, and,
as the palace was not over large, he and many others had
to lodge in the town of Saint-Germain. Melfort, their
old enemy he had spoken of Lady Tyrconnel as " Tame
la plus noire que se puisse concevoir " was for a time
the head of James's first Cabinet, until he came to be
superseded by the Earl of Middleton. Melfort's brother,
the Earl of Perth, and formerly Lord Chancellor of Scot-
land, was governor to the Prince of Wales. Sir Richard
Nagle, whom the Hamiltons had known in Ireland as
Melfort's successor, was a kind of Secretary of War. But,
as Sourches remarks, 3 the ladies were far more numerous
than the men at the English court ; many of the latter,
all of them old acquaintances of the Hamiltons and more
fortunate than they, the Duke of Berwick, the Butlers,
Sheldons, Dillons, Galmoys, Lees, Nugents, O'Briens and
others, were away at war, serving in the French army and
1 La Fayette, Mtmoires de la Cour de France, p. 228. Matthew Prior
complains from Paris of the " notion that the people have that King
James has lost his crowns merely for religion's sake." (Hist. MSS. Comm.,
MSS. of the Marquis of Bath, III, p. 190.)
* Lart, Jacobite Registers, I, pp. 61, 71 ; Grew, The English Court in
Exile, p. 269.
8 Mtmoires, IV, p. no.
124
THE HAMILTONS IN EXILE 125
with the Irish Brigade, gaining honour and reputation, 1
or at least forgetting the bitterness of exile amidst the
clash of arms. The Hamiltons, accustomed to a life of
activity and travel, now found themselves the inmates of
a court that was noted chiefly for the piety and resignation
of its head. 2
The French court considered the pensioner of their King
with an indulgent pity, somewhat akin to contempt ; the
Queen was much more appreciated though she repaired as
frequently to the convent of Chaillot as James to La Trappe.
The letters and memoirs of the time bear ample testimony
to the kindness and solicitude which Louis extended to the
royal exiles, even though, by the treaty of Ryswick, he
acknowledged William as King of England and Anne as
his successor. In fact, the frequent visits of James and
Mary to Versailles, to Marly, to Fontainebleau, to Corn-
pi egne, to St. Cloud, made Matthew Prior exclaim that
the court of France was making a ridiculous figure, halting
thus between God and Baal. ' They are very obliging to
us one day and the same to King James the next." 3 The
situation is summed up in a few words at another time :
" Things go in relation to us as they used to do, they are
civil to us and hate us and they are civil to King James
and despise him/' 4
It was about 1696 that Anthony Hamilton wrote the
1 Dangeau, passim; Boulger, Battle of the Boyne, pp. 308-336.
2 And long after James's death Saint-Germain was associated with the
piety of the King of England.
C'est ici que Jacques second,
Sans ministre et sans maitresse,
Le matin alia a la messe
Et le soir au sermon.
(Desmahis, Voyage d'Eponne, printed with the Voyage de Chapelle et de
Bachaumont, Paris, 1826, p. 298.)
A lampoon of the time ran thus :
Quand je veux rimer a Guillaume
Je trouve d'abord un royaume
Qu'il a range dessous ses loix,
Et quand je veux rimer a Jacques
J'ay beau suer et resuer cent fois,
Je trouve qu'il a fait ses Pasques.
(Bibl. Nat. ms., fr. 12690.)
8 Hist. MSS. Comm., MSS. of the Marquis of Bath, III, pp. 215, 272.
4 Ib., p. 277. One cannot help regretting that space forbids quoting
Prior at greater length. What, for instance, could be more delightful than
his very correct estimate of Monsieur : " Monsieur est une petite marionette
d'une voix cassee qui cause btaucoup et ne dit rien " (p. 195).
126 ANTHONY HAMILTON
well-known description of the exiled court, 1 on which
Macaulay based his account of the life at Saint-Germain,
accepting Hamilton's story uncritically, in fact not seeming
to have realized that, in spite of his alleged ill-humour,
Hamilton was not altogether serious, and that some of his
statements were no more meant to be literally understood
than the one about the French priest explaining to the
English soldiers in Italian that all English Protestants
were damned. One cannot deny, however, that the result-
ing impression is one of gloom. ' Vous me demandez,
Madame, une longue lettre et des particularites de notre
cour ; vous allez etre satisfaite. Je ne vous parlerai point
de la situation du lieu, vous la connaissez, mais avec toute
sa magnificence, c'est le poste du royaume qui nous convient
le moins ; car le chateau a si peu de commodite's, qu'il
n'y a que trente ou quarante, tant pretres que je*suites,
qui y aient des appartements. Une chapelle et deux ora-
toires dans le corps de la place, une paroisse et quelques
couvents dans les dehors, voila tout ce qui s'offre a notre
devotion. Ce n'est pas content ement ; et dans un jour
d'ete on a depeche cela avec les menus suffrages qui en
dependent avant le coucher du soleil. II est vrai que la
vue en est enchantee, les promenades merveilleuses, et
1'air si subtil qu'on y feroit quatre repas par jour. C'est
plus de la moitie qu'il ne nous en faut et nous serions bien
mieux pres de quelque endroit marecageux, ou, tou jours
enveloppes d'un brouillard epais nos sens et nos appetits
fussent plus assoupis. Quoiqu'il y ait parmi nos dames de
quoi contenter le gout le plus difficile . . . il faut convenir
qu'il n'en est pas de meme a 1'egard de 1'autre sexe. A
peine a-t-il pu fournir parmi nous quelques merites dis-
tingues pour former la maison du Prince de Galles. Le
reste consiste en certains esprits que 1'exemple n'a pu rendre
hypocrites, gens d'un caractere un peu meprisant, mais
aussi fort meprises ici, et plus connus ailleurs.
" Nos occupations paroissent serieuses et nos exercices
tout Chretiens ; car il n'y a point ici de quartier pour ceux
qui ne sont pas la moitie du jour en prieres, ou qui n'en font
pas le semblant.
" Le malheur commun qui reunit d'ordinaire ceux qu'il
persecute, semble avoir repandu la discorde et 1'aigreur
1 The tale of Zeneyde in which the description occurs can be dated
through the reference to the death of the Archbishop of Paris, Harlay.
THE HAMILTONS IN EXILE 127
parmi nous ; 1'amitie dont on fait profession est souvent
feinte ; la haine et Ten vie qu'on renferme, toujours sin-
ceres : et tandis qu'on offre en public des vceux pour le
prochain, on le dechire tout doucement en particulier.
La tendresse du cceur qui des fragilites est sans doute la
plus excusable, passe ici pour la moins innocente." 1
The Marchesa Campana de Cavelli, in her monumental
but unfortunately incomplete work on the court of Saint-
Germain, has taken some pains to prove that the priests
housed in the castle by no means approached the number
of " thirty or forty." A list of King James's household made
out for the Earl of Portland by Prior merely says, " a great
many Chaplains and Servants below staires." 2 In any
case, whatever may have been their exact number, they
were too many for the taste of Anthony Hamilton, and
their presence was a source of continual irritation to him.
II n'est si triste compagnie
Pour les vers et pour I'harmonie
Que fantomes vetus de noir,
Tels qu'ici le sort fait pleuvoir,
he exclaims impatiently in another letter, which seems
to have been written in the lifetime of King James. 3 James
was not among Anthony Hamilton's favourites, he had
no sympathy for the monarch's pious exercises, nor were
there any attractions for him in " that beatitude which they
call pauvrete d'esprit " ; the expression is his own.
" Devotion employs the week," writes Prior of the
Stuart court, not without exaggeration ; " poor King James
is running about, first to the Jesuits, then to the Bene-
dictines." And elsewhere, "As to what I have from
private correspondents, the bigotry and folly of those at
St. Germains is unexpressible. Poor King James is hardly
thought on or mentioned, an Italian and a Scotch priest
govern him and his whole concerns ; he is so directly the
same man he ever was, persecuting the few Protestants
that are about him, though they are ruined and banished
1 (Euvres, II, pp. 399-402.
1 Hist. MSS. Comm., MSS. of the Marquis of Bath, III, p. 410 ; cf. the
English Court in Exile, p. 269.
3 (Euvres, III, p. 237, Epltre a Mademoiselle de La Force ; it contains
an allusion to Mile de La Force's being obliged to retire to a convent, an
event which had taken place in 1697, Dangeau, VI, p. 72,
128 ANTHONY HAMILTON
for their adhering to him and rewarding and encouraging
any sorry creature that he can make a convert of. The
child they call the Prince of Wales they breed up with all
the abhorrence imaginable to heresy." 1
The discord and jealousy that Hamilton mentions are
confirmed by Prior, though it must, of course, be remem-
bered that the rumours of strife and intrigue were far more
likely to reach him than the report of the hidden virtue and
of much that was unselfish and noble in the sad life of the
exiles. The court was divided into the factions of the
compounders and non-compounders, the former wishing
for a Restoration on the basis of a general amnesty and
guarantees for the security of the constitution ; the latter
were averse to all compromise. The former party was
headed by Middleton, a Protestant ; the latter, by Melfort,
who, after leaving Ireland had been in Rome and was now
back at Saint-Germain. " The Melfordians and the Middle-
tonians, who are the Whigs and Tories of that court, are
always fighting," writes Prior in April, 1698 ; " one Beaujer,
one of the former faction, killed Crosby in a drunken quarrel
the other day in this town, and though these people all
together make little more than a private family, they have
as much faction and folly amongst them as we can have
in England for the heart of us." 2 And in July of the same
year : ' Three or four fellows have been killed last week
at St. Germains by their countrymen and comrades ; one
Charles O'Neal was broke upon the wheel on Monday for
robbing about St. Germains on the highway. . . . Thus
disorders and murders reign wherever this unhappy man
lives and his domestic affairs are governed just as his three
kingdoms would have been." 3
After the peace of Ryswick James sank more and more
into that kind of apathy that marked his last years, though
Prior still wrote in 1698 : " Persons and Letters come
frequently from England to St. Germains and . . . every-
body is welcome that comes thither with a story from your
side though it be never so ridiculous." 4 Yet James was
1 Hist. MSS. Comm., MSS. of the Marquis of Bath, III, pp. 296, 305,
334-
* Ib., p. 208. Some years later, in 1706, Madame writes, " Les Anglais
se detestent entre eux, nous voyons bien cela a la cour de Saint-Germain,
ils y sont tous comme chiens et chats." (Corr., ed. Jaegl, I, p. 354.)
Ib., p. 236.
* Ib., p. 272.
THE HAMILTONS IN EXILE 129
now chiefly concerned " to reap a Christian frute from these
seeds of affliction which Providence had sent/' One last
attempt to re-establish him had been made in 1696.
Richard Hamilton was appointed Lieutenant-General of
His Majesty's forces in England, 1 but the English Jacobites
refusing to rise before the French troops landed, and the
assassination plot against William being discovered, James
was obliged to return to St. Germain after having remained
for three months on the coast with his army.
In one way the Hamiltons were better off than the other
exiles. They had spent so many years in France that the
term exile is hardly applicable to them ; they spoke the
language as if it had been their own, they were familiar
with the customs and the etiquette, they had numerous
friends, and through their sister, the influential Countess
de Gramont, they mixed, so Saint-Simon tells us, 2 with
what was best in French Society. And so, since the piety
of the English court was not to their taste, they were as
often as not absent from Saint-Germain. They stayed with
the Gramonts at Paris, and, later on, when the King had
presented the Countess with Pontalie they were frequently
to be found there ; at Versailles, where the Countess had
an apartment, Saint-Simon saw them and made up his
mind that they had " un bon coin de singularite." 3 The
Gramonts, on the other hand, stood well with the English
court. Mary of Modena liked Gramont, even though he
used to take pleasure in assuring the pious queen that he
could not find anything to say when he went to Confession.
Madame de Gramont was considered a kind of link between
the English and the French court, and certainly of all the
ladies of Versailles it was she whom Queen Mary knew best
and admitted most frequently to her intimacy. During
her last illness the Queen visited her and showed her every
kindness. 4
Richard Hamilton spent a large part of his time with the
Cardinal de Bouillon at St. Martin de Pontoise, where the
1 Hist. MSS. Comm., Stuart Papers at Windsor, I, p. 113.
a Memoires, XV, p. 416.
8 Ib.
4 B.M., Add. MSS. 18966, f. 7, Falconer Madan, Stuart Papers, II,
p. 316 ; Dangeau, II, pp. 390, 427 ; III, pp. 340, 341 ; Sourches, VIII,
p. 257.
130 ANTHONY HAMILTON
cardinal, a nephew of Turenne's, had a large domain.
Pleasant, easy-going and very much more popular than
Anthony, Richard seems to have enjoyed himself thoroughly
in the society of this witty bon vivant. Madame de Se-
vigne's cousin, Coulanges, describes himself and ' the
amiable Richard Hamilton ' as the two faithful commensals
of the cardinal. 1 There were many places where Anthony
Hamilton, too, was a welcome guest ; at Fitzjames, for
instance, the property of the Duke of Berwick, to whom
Hamilton was so much attached ; 2 at Maintenon, where he
enjoyed the company of Madame de Caylus and the Duchesse
de Noailles ; 3 at Saint-Maur, where M. le Due (grandson
of the Grand Conde") was established, 4 and once he went
to Lorraine to visit his niece, Marie Elisabeth de Gramont,
Abbess of Poussay. 6 But one associates him especially
with the Vendome circle the ' societe du Temple ' and
the court of Madame du Maine at Sceaux.
Both the Vendomes had served in Turenne's army at
the same time as the Hamiltons ; the Duke had been
wounded in the retreat of Altenheim, commanded by
George Hamilton with the Chevalier de Boufflers ; the
Hamiltons were therefore old acquaintances ; in fact, it is
the Grand Prieur who is supposed to have made the Chanson
on Richard Hamilton's return, prophesying the defeat of
all lovers upon the advent of the invincible Richard. 6
The Duke spent much of his free time with his guests at
the chateau of Anet, once the property of Diane de Poitiers ;
1 Sevign6, X, p. 358 (Coulanges to Mme. de Sevigne).
1 The original name of Fitzjames was Warthi. Berwick's son, the
Duke of Fitzjames, tells us that Hamilton " 6toit de la societ6 du marechal
et n'en bougeoit : il y trouvoit 1'agrement et le plaisir qu'il savoit si bien y
porter lui-me'me. (Berwick, Memoires, p. 466.)
3 Hamilton, CEuvres, III, pp. 188, 192.
4 76. , pp. 30, 232. The Relation d'un Voyage en Mauritanic, the grave
and solemn account of a sail to Mauritania " on the third day of March in
the year of the great Omelet " (an allusion to the Cardinal de Noailles'
instructions for the better observation of Lent ; cf. Chaulieu, CEuvres
(1757), II, p. 168) is nothing but a playful description of a visit to Saint-
Maur. The reader will easily recognize what is meant by the Port Bas-
tillan, the palace Vincenniade, the Isle Bouillonnante, the Princess
Mainalide who sends manifestos in verse and, needless to say, le triste
Marc Antonin, distraught with love, walking alone, talking to himself,
asking for drink when hungry and for mustard when thirsty, is Anthony
Hamilton himself.
6 Hamilton, (Euvres, III, pp. 171, 242.
Cf. p. 72 supra, and Sayons, Histoire de ja Litteratuve Franfaise d
I'Etr anger, II, p. 380.
THE HAMILTONS IN EXILE 131
just as frequently he took part in the festivities of the
' Temple/ where the Grand Prieur likewise received a
company of pleasant Epicureans wits and noblemen and
those who combined both qualifications, for the Grand
Prieur, the Altesse Chansonniere as Voltaire calls him, 1
delighted even more than the Duke, his brother, in witty
and cultivated society, and though assuredly these gather-
ings were not feasts of reason, they were not mere drinking
bouts. " Ces delicieux soupers du Temple," writes a some-
what indulgent contemporary critic, " ou Tesprit n'etait
que sentiment, la plaisanterie gaiete*, Terudition amusement
et la critique instruction badine ; ou jamais il ne fut ques-
tion, ni de ces dissertations pedantesques ni de ces propos
affectes." 2 Saint-Simon's description of Chaulieu fits most
of the habitues of the Temple, " un agreable debauche de
fort bonne compagnie et qui faisoit aisement de jolis vers
. . . et qui ne se piquoit pas de religion." 3 And most of
the habitues would doubtless have subscribed to the frank
confession of faith with which Chaulieu honoured Hamilton :
Si j'6tais moins libertin
Je serais plus mauvais poSte.*
The Grand Prieur was in a way the patron of that small
group of men who, far from the " conversions " and the
piety of Versailles, cared little for religion and morals, and
very much for the pleasures of the only life they could be
sure of. To a man who had lived at the court of Charles II
the Temple was certainly a more congenial place than the
courts of Louis le Grand and " poor King James."
La Fontaine, a frequent guest at the Temple, has left
us a curious picture of one of the gatherings ; 5 from Hamil-
ton we have, fortunately or unfortunately, no direct account,
but most of the habitues of the Temple were his friends and
correspondents ; the amiable Chaulieu, for instance, who
" esteems him and has an affection for him that might
be called adoration " ; 6 the unworthy friend of Madame
de La Sabliere, the indolent Marquis de La Fare, whom his
(Euvres, X, p. 240.
Chaulieu, (Euvres (ed. 1730), I, Avertissement.
Mtmoires (6d. Cheruel), XVII, p. 87.
Hamilton, (Euvres, III, p. 51.
(Euvres (Ed. des Grands Ecrivains), IX, pp. 449, 450.
Hamilton, (Euvres, III, p. 208.
132 ANTHONY HAMILTON
intimates called Monsieur de la Cochonniere, and who, like
Vendome the elder, died from an attack of indigestion ;
Campistron, the dramatist and protege of Racine, La
Chapelle, a versatile writer ; J. B. Rousseau, the author
of pious odes for the Dauphin and licentious epigrams for
the Temple ; M. de Nevers, the " due poetissime, pindaris-
sime, senequissime," and his sister, Madame de Bouillon,
not the least charming of Mazarin's nieces, and only seven
years older than the Vendomes, her nephews ; Mademoiselle
de La Force, who, after a very chequered existence, was
invited by Louis XIV to retire to a convent, much to
Hamilton's indignation ; Mademoiselle Certain, a well-
known harpsichord player, whom he used to visit at her
lodgings, rue Villedo, 1 and many others, Ninon, doubtless,
la moderne Leontium, and Mademoiselle De Launay, for
whom Chaulieu, in his extreme old age, had a sincere
affection, and probably also young Arouet. In a letter to
the Grand Prieur, written in 1716, Voltaire expressly
mentions Hamilton as one of his masters, 2 and the fact
that in his Temple du Gout he places Hamilton with La Fare
and Chaulieu shows that these three were intimately asso-
ciated in his mind. To the very rare first-hand knowledge
we have of Hamilton, we may almost certainly add the
quatrain written twelve years after his death :
Auprds d'eux le vif Hamilton
Tou jours arm6 d'un trait qui blesse,
M&lisait de 1'humaine espSce
Et m&ne d'un peu mieux, dit on. 8
And when Voltaire says of him, " il e*tait fort satirique," 4
is it not like a far-off echo from one of the " delicieux
soupers du Temple/' where the young poet listened to the
caustic remarks and the graceful cynicism of the elderly
wit?
There is one other place where Voltaire may have met
Hamilton, for the Temple was not the only place of refuge
for the " degoutes de Versailles " ; 5 they went to Sceaux
where there reigned the Duchesse du Maine, a kind of
1 Hamilton, (Euvres, III, p. 209 ; cf. Desnoiresterres, Cours Galantes,
III, p. 271 (and passim for the whole of this subject).
* (Euvres, XXXIII, p. 40.
Ib., VIII, p. 573-
4 Ib., a note that he added in explanation of the above lines.
6 Cf. F. T. Perrens, Les Libertins en France au ij e Siecle, p. 369.
THE HAMILTONS IN EXILE 133
spoilt child, wilful, headstrong, clever, not without some
of the eccentricity that marked the later Condes and with
not enough ' religion ' to satisfy Madame de Maintenon,
who would fain have chosen a more pious wife for the prince
she had brought up. 1 The Duchess wished to be amused
and threw herself heart and soul into the ' Divertissemens '
she organized ; but, as Fontenelle remarks, " elle voulut
que la joie eut de 1'esprit." 2 In this respect Sceaux was not
unlike the Temple, there, however, the resemblance ceases,
for the Duchess was too fastidious to have tolerated the
bonne compagnie of the Grand Prieur, and no accusations
can be brought against the court of Sceaux, as far as manners
and morals are concerned. Her ambition was to bring
together a polite and lettered society, and to rule over it,
an undisputed queen. Like the gatherings of the Hotel
de Rambouillet, Madame du Maine's assemblies consisted
partly of the grand monde and partly of those who were
received for the sake of their wit and culture, and on a
footing of perfect equality. Among the latter we find
Saint-Aulaire, La Motte Houdart, the presidents Renault
and de Mesmes, Fontenelle, Arouet, occasionally Chaulieu
and La Fare, but above all the indispensable court poets
and organizers of the Divertissemens, the Abbe Genest and
the amiable Malezieu, " cet homme d'un esprit presque
universel," 3 who taught Greek and Latin to the Due du
Maine, mathematics to the Due de Bourgogne, astronomy
and anything else she happened to be interested in to the
Duchess, arranged her entertainments and composed more
than his share of the letters in verse, chansons, madrigals,
rondeaux and other works required of those belonging to
the ' galeres du bel esprit/
Malezieu had a small property not far from Sceaux,
called Chatenay. The Duchess often visited him there,
and, once a year, Malezieu invited her and her whole court
to the fete de Chatenay. Music, comedies, ballets, mas-
querades, illuminations, nothing was left undone that
would amuse her. Anthony Hamilton was present at the
fete of August, 1705, and the account which he gives of the
proceedings in a letter to Henrietta Bulkeley deserves to
be quoted ; it may stand as a fairly good example of the
1 Cf. Maintenon, Corr. G6n. t III, p. 384.
2 (Euvres (Paris, 1818), I, p. 385.
3 The expression is Voltaire's, V, p. 8i r
134 ANTHONY HAMILTON
badinage with which he entertained his correspondents.
The long list of guests conveys an idea of the society that
used to meet at Sceaux.
"... Avant de vous parler des pre*paratifs et du
spectacle, il est bon de vous nommer les principaux de ceux
qui s'etaient rendus a Sceaux pour y assister : c'etoient
M. le due, mademoiselle d'Enguien, M. le comte d'Har-
court, autrefois abbe de ce nom, madame sa femme, madame
la duchesse d'Albemarle recommandable par son erudition,
monsieur le due et madame la duchesse de Nevers avec
mademoiselle leur fille, madame la duchesse de La Ferte
et madame de Mirepoix, madame la duchesse de la Feuil-
lade, madame la duchesse de Quintin, madame la comtesse
de Dreux, madame de la Vieuville, madame la comtesse de
Lussan, madame la marquise de Moras, madame la comtesse
d'Artagnan, M. le due de Coaslin, M. le president de Mesmes,
M. le marquis de Lassay, M. le baron de Ricousse, M.
Caryll gentilhomme anglais et M. de Fimarcon. Remarquez,
s'il vous plait, Mademoiselle, que cette liste n'est qu'un
tres petit denombrement de ceux qui e*toient pries, et que
la cour ordinaire de madame du Maine, avec Tordre entier
de la Mouche, dont je ne parle point, e*toit de la fete. Toute
cette compagnie partit dimanche, neuvieme du mois,
une heure apres midi, pour se rendre a Chatenay, distant
de Sceaux d'environ quinze stades, il se trouva des voitures
toutes pretes pour la compagnie que je viens de nommer ;
madame la duchesse de La Ferte*, qui par hasard m'aimait
ce jour-la, me fit 1'honneur de me mettre avec elle et madame
de Mirepoix, dans une caleche ouverte, ou deux personnes
des plus minces, dans la saison la plus froide, seroient en
danger d'etouffer.
" II faut avouer que les faveurs du beau sexe seroient
bien precieuses, si elles etoient plus durables ; les dames
qui m'avoient distingue par cette preference, s'en re*pentirent
apparemment ; car elles dirent que j'avois ete de tres
mauvaise compagnie pendant le voyage. Si je voulois vous
mander en detail ce qu'il y avoit de rare et de magnifique
dans la celebration de cette fete, je n'aurois jamais fait.
Imaginez vous que le premier spectacle qui se presenta
lorsque tout le^monde fut arrive, fut une galerie de plain
pied au jardin, dans laquelle il y avoit une table de vingt-
cinq converts, ou vingt-cinq dames, plus belles les unes que
THE HAMILTONS IN EXILE 135
les autres se placerent ; dans la meme galerie, une autre
table de dix-huit ou vingt couverts fut servie en meme
temps pour M. le due, M. le due du Maine, et une partie
des hommes ; mais il faut voir de quelle magnificence, de
quelle profusion, et de quelle delicatesse tout cela fut servi.
"... Au sortir de la table on se mit a jouer pendant
que tout se preparoit pour la comedie. La salle ou elle fut
representee etoit au milieu du jardin ; c'etoit un grand
espace convert et environne de toiles, ou Ton avoit eleve
un theatre, dont les decorations etoient entrelacees de
feuillages verts, fraichement coupees, et illumines d'une
prodigieuse quantite de bougies. La piece en trois actes
est de M. de Malezieu ; elle etoit melee de danses, de recits
et de symphonies ; et afin que vous ne puissiez douter
qu'elle ne fut representee dans toute sa perfection, vous
saurez que madame la duchesse du Maine y jouoit ; made-
moiselle de Moras, M. de Malezieu, M. Crom [Mayercron],
M. Landais, M. Dampierre, M. Caramon, et un ofncier de
rArtillerie, dont j'oublie le nom, en etoient les acteurs :
pour les intermedes, c'etoient Balon, Dumoulin, et les
Allards qui formoient les entrees : les paroles du prologue
et des recits etoient de M. de Nevers pour I'italien, et de
M. de Malezieu pour le franc, ois, excellemment mises en
musique par Matair ; et le tout execute par les voix et les
instruments de la musique du roi. Le spectacle dura trois
heures et demie, sans ennuyer un moment ; il est vrai qu'il
fut interrompu vers le milieu de la representation, par un
laquais de madame d'Albemarle, qui pendant qu'on etoit
le plus attentif, et qu'on suoit a grosses gouttes, fit lever
tout le monde pour porter une coiffe et une echarpe sa
maitresse, de peur du serein ; Dieu sait les benedictions
qu'on donnoit a son laquais et a la delicatesse de son tem-
perament ! Le souper fut encore plus magnifique que le
premier repas ; les dames s'y presentment avec les memes
charmes et quelquechose de plus ; les applaudissements
fournirent les premiers entretiens ; on se mit de bonne
humeur ; les faiseurs d'impromptus ajouterent quelques
plats de leur fa$on a ceux de I'entremets ; M. de Nevers
commen9a ; un homme qu'on prit pour moi, poursuivit,
et ne fit rien qui vaille. Je ne vous envoie pas ces ouvrages,
parce que vous avez assez mal regu ceux que je vous ai
deja envoy es. Apres le souper on tira force fusees, et a une
heure apres minuit le bal commenga, je ne vous dirai point
136 ANTHONY HAMILTON
a quelle heure il finit, car je me retirai a la petite point e
du jour, qu'on ne faisoit que commencer les contredanses :
je regagnai Sceaux, j'y dormis deux heures ; et quand j'en
suis parti, je ne doute pas qu'on ne dansat encore a Chate-
nay." 1
Though Hamilton professes to despise some of the puerile
amusements of Sceaux, he too submitted to the caprices of
the despotic little duchess, wrote verses in her honour,
composed impromptus for her, even if he had no love for
" the monster commonly known as the Impromptu," 2 and
when Madame du Maine ordered her willing courtiers to
write in the manner of Marot :
Or maintenant, en ce grand changement
Ou notre Cour reprend la Vertugade
Reprendre il faut le style de Clement
Pour rimailler encor joyeusement,
Le Virelais, chant Royal et Balade, 8
M. d'Amilthon, as obedient a slave of the galleres du bel
esprit as any other, composed for her the rather charming
Rondeau Redouble, " Par grand' bonte cheminoient autre-
fois," which is among the best things he has written. At
times the Duchess instituted what she called a poetical
lottery ; the letters of the alphabet were put into a bag
and those present were all made to draw one. The person
to whose share the letter A fell was obliged to produce
an aria or an apotheosis, C required a comedy, F a fable,
O an ode or an opera, R a rondeau, S a sonnet, etc. 4 Childish
though all this seems, there is little doubt that we have to
thank Madame du Maine, in a way, for making Hamilton
embark upon the career of a poet in his old age and for
compelling him to overcome a certain indolence, since he
rhymed, not because he had an over-mastering impulse to
do so, but because he was made to rhyme, because it was
the fashion and because it pleased the ladies with whom he
professed to be so violently in love. Not one of his stories
and poems but is composed for a lady of his acquaintance
and usually at her command.
With the poet-laureate of Sceaux, Malezieu, he was on
1 (Euvres, III, pp. 149-153.
8 16., p. 61.
8 Divertissemens de Seaux, p. 8.
4 Caylus, Souvenirs, p. 510, a note by Voltaire.
THE HAMILTONS IN EXILE 137
the best of terms, at least, if one may judge from the compli-
ments in verse which they exchanged. Malezieu called him
a New Amphion and gallantly remarked :
Rien ne peut effacer un nom
Celebre par Amilthon.
Hamilton considered Malezieu more elegant than Voiture,
and if he really meant that, it was the highest praise he
could give. When Malezieu invited Madame du Maine to
Chatenay, new verses were written in honour of the house,
to which Malezieu replied :
Amilton par son art magique
Transforme en Palais magnifique
Cette miserable maison.
In fact, Hamilton was described at Sceaux as the Horace
of Albion, and this title was given to him before any of the
prose writings by which we remember him were known
or had attained renown. 1 It was merely for some vers de
societe, poetry of a kind, some of which was doubtless
allowed to fade away on its yellow paper amongst the letters
and ribbons of the ladies for whom it was written and some
of which has come down to us and strikes us as dull and
insipid, because we never beheld those who inspired the
poet's pen and because we no longer understand the hidden
allusions.
1 Divertissement de Seaux, pp. 370, 374, 376, 397, 471.
CHAPTER IX
THE POET OF SAINT-GERMAIN. DEATH OF
GRAMONT
BECAUSE of these many absences from Saint-Germain
it must not be thought that Hamilton found no
pleasure there. Some congenial spirits were there
at least : Middleton, according to Sir William
Temple, " a very valuable man and a good scholar " ;
Sheridan, the historian ; John Caryll, whom his epitaph
describes as " prseclaro et sublimi ingenio literatura omnigena
expolito clarus " j 1 and his nephew, John Caryll, immortal-
ized in the Rape of the Lock. And above all there was a
newer and happier generation growing up at St. Germain,
a generation either born there or too young to remember
the country they had left. ' Poor King James ' had been
gathered to his fathers in 1701, and the court of the young
king and the princess, Marie Louise, could not but be
something more light-hearted than the court of the deeply
humiliated monarch with his penitence and his mortifica-
tions of the flesh. Not one of the letters that Hamilton
writes from Saint- Germain between 1700 and 1710 approaches
the pessimism of Zeneyde, rather we get the picture of a
happy and united little kingdom that does not even lack its
court poet. 2 For what Voiture was at the Hotel de Ram-
bouillet, what Male*zieu and Genest were at Sceaux, what
1 Guilhermy, Inscriptions de la France (Paris, 1873), I, p. 615.
* As at Sceaux, the inhabitants of the court of Saint-Germain went by
nicknames, the Princess was called la deesse in nubibus ; the Duke of
Berwick, le brochet ; the Countess Ploydon, la Piccioline ; Miss Butler,
a cousin of the Hamiltons, le petit violon ; Henrietta Bulkeley, Mamzelle ;
Charlotte Bulkeley, Clarice ; one of the gentlemen, possibly Richard
Hamilton, Lysander ; John Caryll, the younger, Cupidon ; occasionally
Anthony Hamilton calls himself le belier, and doubtless there were other
names that have not come down to us. (Cf. Hamilton, CEuvres, III, passim.)
THE POET OF SAINT-GERMAIN 139
Chaulieu was at Saint-Maur and at the Temple, that Hamil-
ton was at Saint-Germain, and the Jacobite court had not the
worst of these faithful and gallant poets. And whereas
Voiture was a bourgeois, whereas Malezieu, Genest and
Chaulieu were subordinates and obliged to direct most of
their efforts ad majorem gloriam of M. le Due and his sister
Madame la Duchesse du Maine, except for the Princess
Louise, Hamilton was the independent equal of the ladies
he celebrated and wrote as much and more for ' Clarice '
and his ' belle B.' as for Madame la Princesse d'Angleterre.
The list of his fair * nymphs ' of Saint-Germain is a long
one ; it would include the Duchess of Perth and the Duchess
of Albemarle, the ' Marquise Arthur/ the Countesses Ploy-
don and Drummond, Mrs. Marischal, Mrs. Sheldon, Mrs.
Bidle and a host of young beauties, the two daughters of
the Earl of Melfort, Miss Skelton, Miss Strickland, the
Misses Nugent, Miss Middleton, anyone of whom could
command a thousand lovers and resembled her to whom
on Mount Ida Paris gave the apple. But above all Hamilton
admired the four Bulkeleys, Charlotte, Ann, Henrietta and
Laura, the daughters of Lady Sophia Bulkeley, a lady of
the Bedchamber to the Queen. Their aunt was la belle
Stuart, familiar to readers of the Gramont Memoirs, and,
if Hamilton may be believed, they had inherited no small
share of their aunt's beauty. Charlotte was married to
Charles, Viscount Clare, who lost his life in 1706; Anne
became the Duke of Berwick's second wife in 1700 ; three
years before Hamilton's death Henrietta was still living at
Saint- Germain, 1 but nothing more is known of her and her
sister Laura.
All these ladies could claim Hamilton's pen. The nymphs
of Saint-Germain bathing in the river or attired for a hunt
are described at great length ; Madame Clare at her toilet,
the Countess F. at her harpsichord, the Princess painted
by Arlo, form the subject of gallant verses. During a
thunderstorm Hamilton amuses the ladies by improvis-
ing a chanson ; he writes fairy tales for them, Zeneyde
for Madame Ploydon, L'Enchanteur Faustus for his niece
Margaret Hamilton, 2 Les Quatre Facardins for the
1 Hamilton, CEuvres, III, pp. 133-137. The letter is undated, but must
have been written in 1716.
2 Bibl. Nat. ms., fr. 32964, f. 85, shows that Margaret Hamilton is the
niece for whom L'Enohanteur is intended.
I 4 o ANTHONY HAMILTON
Countess F., La Pyr amide et le Cheval d'Or for Laura
O'Brien de Clare ; Henrietta Bulkeley considers Le
Belier as her own, and there is some one doubtless to
whom Fleur d'Epine belongs. If one of them, Mrs.
Nugent or Miss Skelton, for instance, is celebrating her
fete or her birthday, Hamilton is sure to remember her
with some complimentary song ; a bunch of daffodils sent
to ' Clarice ' is accompanied by a poem ; his empty snuff-
box goes to the Duchess of Berwick with a poetic Placet.
When the King, the Princess and the whole English court
visit the Countess de Gramont at Pontalie, Hamilton is
ordered to celebrate the event, and he writes a song that
is sung to the tune of Le Grand Conde terrible en guerre;
it is interesting to note that, with his usual mock gravity,
he speaks pompously of this visit as le second voyage de
Pontalie, just as Dangeau at Versailles speaks of le voyage
de Marly and le voyage de Fontainebleau. He sups with
James III, the young King calls on him for a toast, and
though Hamilton does not love anything in the nature
of an impromptu he responds gracefully. As his talent
becomes known, others avail themselves of his skill. He
corresponds with Chaulieu in the name of his niece, Lady
Stafford, and with Saint-vremond in Gramont's name, he
writes for Gramont to the Due de Berry, for the Sisters of
Saint-Dominique de Poissy to the Sisters of Sainte-Marie de
Chaillot, he composes verses for the Princess with Henrietta
Bulkeley ; others imitate him, madrigals and epigrams are
the fashion at St. Germain.
Though Hamilton seems to have liked the young King
well enough, he had more of an affection for the Princess
Louise, and his preference was generally shared. 1 Almost
regularly for her birthday, he sends her verses ; during her
frequent absences at the convent of Chaillot he writes
her letters in the hope that they may amuse her, gallant
descriptions of her abound. He praises her gracious manners
which charm everybody, and the grace with which she
moves and dances, for the young princess, though sharing
her mother's gentleness and piety, seems to have enjoyed
dancing with a juvenile whole-heart edness ; she figures
in a ballet with Laura Bulkeley, Miss Skelton and the
' Countess ' Drummond, and she even composes a dance
1 Cf. e.g. Maintenon, Lettres indites, I, pp. 169, 172, 176,
THE POET OF SAINT-GERMAIN 141
called les quatre faces you pirouette nine times to your
right and eight times to your left, all in one breath, and
when you come to that part of the dance which resembles
the cotillon, you have but to jump fifteen times into the air,
clearing the ground by five feet ; that, at least, is the way
in which Hamilton saw her Royal Highness dance it. 1
The companions of the Princess, Anne Skelton and Marie
Strickland were of about the same age as she ; Laura Bulkeley
does not seem to have been much older ; Laura O'Brien de
Clare and the little Nugents were very much younger. 2
There are many people who see in Hamilton only the
cynical and uncharitable author of the Memoires de Gram-
mont ; in Devereux Bulwer Lytton makes Hamilton exclaim :
" Compliments are the dullest things imaginable. For God's
sake let us leave panegyric to blockheads and say something
bitter to one another, or we shall die of ennui." Here, how-
ever, we have Hamilton in an entirely different aspect the
elderly beau writing poems and fairy tales for little girls
in their teens, treating them with an exaggerated gallantry
that must have been after the heart of those who aspired
to be little girls no longer.
It was in the society of Lady Bulkeley's four daughters
that Hamilton seems to have spent most of his time when
he was at Saint-Germain, and when he writes to the Duke of
Berwick his letters are full of what may be called family news.
We get delightful glimpses of the ladies of Saint- Germain
mending their falbalas, working at their tapestry under the
trees, or washing their laces and hanging them up in the
garden to dry, or, some other day, playing at bowls and at
blind man's buff, and courageously scaling haycocks ' with
a very advantageous disorder in their dress.' While Berwick
is away at war, Hamilton and other elderly courtiers attend
the ladies and endeavour to dispel their anxiety, " Vous
etes fort incommodes, vous autres gens de guerre qui vous
rendez si terribles a vos ennemis et si chers a vos femmes ;
vous ne sauriez croire la peine qu'elles nous donnent en
votre absence. A chaque mouvement que font les armees
nous les voyons tout eperdues ; elles s'imaginent qu'on ne
marche que pour se battre et qu'on n'en veut qu'a leurs
1 Hamilton, (Euvres, III, p. 116.
1 The Princess was born in 1692, Miss Strickland in 1690, Miss Skelton
in 1693, Laura O'Brien de Clare (Charlotte Bulkeley's daughter) in 1697,
the eldest of the Nugenta in 1697 and Louise Marie Middleton in 1701.
142 ANTHONY HAMILTON
maris ; notre rhetorique ne fait que blanchir aupres
de leur frayeur ; et le seul expedient que nous ayons
trouve pour etourdir leurs tendres inquietudes, est de faire
diversion par de petites parties de plaisir purement a vos
intentions/' 1
The ladies are invited to partake of collations in the
garden tartlets, cheese-cakes, syllabubs and sackposset
comfort the ' afflicted beauties ' and make them forget the
absent ones for a while, and then some one tactlessly men-
tions Villars' campaigns or the officious Lindsey has nothing
better to do than to announce Berwick's march on Tongres
and to congratulate the Duchess in advance on the reputa-
tion that her husband is sure to win. Henrietta Bulkeley
pales, her tears drop fast on her tapestry, Hamilton allows
her grief to take its course, but thinking it safer she should
be disarmed, he takes away her scissors. As for the Duchess,
he assures her that the Duke will probably not lose more
than an arm or a leg or perhaps an eye, and that if worse
comes to worse and the Duke is slain, Villars will avenge his
death gallantly. Moreover, if it is the will of Heaven that
she become a widow, there are other husbands in this world,
but if she allows herself to die of despair there will be no more
Nanettes left. Then Riva comforts her by relating how in
the ancient wars of Italy fifty thousand Guelphs fought a
whole day long against fifty-three thousand Ghibellines,
and how between them they had but one killed and two
wounded. All this has its effect for the time being, but
the consolations have always to be begun over again. Last
night the Duchess received a letter which made her weep
during two hours. Why can these men of war not keep
quiet and leave others to their repose ? 2
On one occasion it is the Duchess herself who arranges
a walk. In the wood of Saint-Germain there stands a chapel
dedicated to Saint-Thibaut, a saint who is said to cure all
manners of fever. The worthy Dicconson, the Queen's
Treasurer, has just been suffering from an attack, so the
ladies, always charitable to their neighbour, resolve to under-
take a pilgrimage to the chapel of St. Thibaut, to intercede
for Mr. Dicconson, though they hardly know him. After
accomplishing their devotions they spread dinner on the
grass and all sit down except the Chevalier de La Salle,
who is scolded, as usual, for his want of piety and ordered
1 (Euvres, III, p. 77. Ib., pp. 83, 84.
THE POET OF SAINT-GERMAIN 143
to go down on his knees before the chapel door whilst the
others are dining. The chevalier complains that he has
forgotten his hour book and that he knows no prayers by
heart, so he is allowed to sit down, not with them, but at
the foot of a tree and the ladies give him something to eat
if he will promise to wash the glasses afterwards. Mean-
while they have quite forgotten about Mr. Dicconson and
his fever, and suddenly Mr. Dicconson appears in person.
The Duchess blushes and the others all joyfully cry "A
miracle I " for they find that the fever left him just after
they had put up their last prayer to the saint. And at
night they return, and the poet cannot but be gay in their
jocund company, and the shepherds and shepherdesses, the
nymphs and dryads peep through the leaves to see them
pass. 1
The Duke, though at the head of an army, finds time to
write back long letters in prose and in verse. But one of the
letters gives great offence to the ladies, and the worthy Hamil-
ton, well versed in the code of chivalry and knowing that
there is but one course of action to him who has deserved
the wrath of his mistress, merely counsels Berwick, with
great gravity, on the kind of death he is to choose. " Mon
avis done seroit, que vous mettant dans un fauteuil, en
bonnet de nuit, la tabatiere d'un cote, une plume et de
Tencre de 1'autre ; et vous appuyant sur la table dans la
posture d'un homme qui reve, vous mourussiez d'apoplexie ;
car cela est fait dans un moment :
Ou bien que, montant a cheval,
La nuit, au milieu des tenbres
Vous gagniez ces rives celdbres
Ou le Rhin se perd dans le Whal ;
Que la, sans aucune remise,
Vous deiassiez votre ruban,
Que vous 6tiez votre chemise
Pour la laisser au bon Letang ;
Et que la tete la premiere
Vers ses gouffres les plus profonds
Vous vous jetiez dans la riviere,
Et que vous restiez tout au fond
Une bonne heure tout entidre. 2
The ladies of Saint- Germain are convinced that the Duke
has not survived the loss of their affections so they busy
1 Ib., pp. 118-120. 2 Ib., p. 92.
144 ANTHONY HAMILTON
themselves with a cenotaph, a haycock is erected to his
memory and they vie with each other in composing epi-
taphs, though Hamilton unkindly tells Henrietta Bulkeley
that what she has composed is an elegy and not an epitaph.
A letter arrives and it is from Berwick, who is still in life !
Hamilton is amazed, he writes back politely but not without
some coldness. " Au reste," he concludes, " vous avez
beau nous menacer de votre retour pour nous empecher
de profiter de votre absence, quand votre general et vous
auriez des moustaches retroussees jusqu'aux yeux, nous
irions toujours notre petit train aupres des dames puisqu'
elles veulent bien de nous, et je crois que je ne ferai pas
mal de les laisser dans 1'erreur de votre mort encore un jour
ou deux, c'est-a-dire, jusqu'a ce qu'elles vous aient entiere-
ment oublieY' 1
When Berwick goes to Spain with his army his letters are
considered laconic, but, Heaven be praised, all Spaniards
are not so, for did not the Comtesse de Gramont just the
other day show Hamilton a letter from Don Thadeo Thadei
de Burgo six pages closely written and containing not one
sentence which was not politic ? Berwick is not always
away alone. On one occasion he takes his wife, la belle
Nanette, and her sister Henrietta to spend the winter at
Montpellier, where he is stationed. Perhaps he may take
them on to Spain. Hamilton professes despair at Henrietta's
departure. It has sometimes been stated that Hamilton
was in love with her and that but for their poverty they
would have married. It is true that he was anxious she
should think well of him and that, not unnaturally, he felt
aggrieved when she called one of his elaborate epistles to
Berwick " the silliest letter in the world " ; it is true that
his tale, Le Belier, was dedicated to her, and that the
letters to " Mademoiselle B." are amongst the most charm-
ing of his writings and full of professions of the most violent
passion, but it is not likely that Henrietta took them to
be more serious than her very elderly lover intended them
to be. 2
It was during her absence at Montpellier that Hamilton
wrote the above-mentioned letters to her. In these letters
she is made to play the part of a belle dame sans merci
1 (Euvres, III, p. 99.
1 He was about thirty years older than her eldest sister, who was born
in 1674. (Cf. Dulon, p. 120.)
THE POET OF SAINT-GERMAIN 145
and he that of the faithful spurned lover, but, as the following
extracts will show, he wanted to amuse her with his badinage
and nothing more. " Que puis-je faire, Mademoiselle, pour
ne vous etre plus insupportable ? J'ai honte d'etre encore
en vie, apres avoir merit e votre indignation, et apres les
assurances que je vous ai donnees dans ma derniere lettre,
de ne vivre plus que quelques jours ; mais ce qu'il y a de
plus extraordinaire a mon aventure, c'est que la violence du
desespoir, qui fait chercher aux autres des solitudes pour
gemir, des arbres pour se pendre, et des rochers pour se
precipiter, m'a conduit au beau milieu de Sceaux le meme
jour que . . . toutes les beaut es de 1'Univers, except e
celles de votre famille s'y etoient rassemblees pour la fete
de Chatenay. Je fus d'abord tente d'en troubler la celebra-
tion par un evenement tragique, car croyant bien que je
ne trouverois jamais une plus belle occasion de me punir
et de signaler mon repentir, j'etois sur le point d'assembler
la compagnie autour de moi, de leur dire que vous etiez
la plus charmante personne du monde et moi le plus grand
coquin ; et apres vous avoir nomme trois fois, avec trois
horribles soupirs de me donner trois coups d'epee au milieu
du cceur : mais faisant reflexion que je suis a vous absolu-
ment, j'ai cru que je ne devois pas me tuer sans votre per-
mission ; et qu'en attendant que vous eussiez la bonte de
me 1'accorder, je ne ferois pas mal de donner toute mon
attention aux magnificences de cette fete pour vous en
faire une espere de relation/' 1 Henrietta writes back quite
graciously and Hamilton is charmed with the next few
letters, but he is uneasy about one thing " Au milieu des
choses obligeantes que vous avez la bonte de me dire dans
votre lettre, vous ne faites pas un mot de reponse sur les
plaintes que je vous avois faites, de me voir faire des presents
de Montpellier, sans y avoir ajoute la moindre chose de
votre part; peut-etre faites- vous faire une epee garnie de
rubis et de diamants, ou quelque belle echarpe brodee de
vos chiffres par vos belles mains, telles que la reine Thomyris
ou la princesse Placidie envoyerent au vaillant Spitridate
ou a 1'amoureux Constance. Je les recevrai avec le meme
respect et les memes transports/' 2
Unfortunately, as Henrietta is on her way home, she
repents of her leniency and scrawls an unkind message at the
1 (Euvres, III, pp. 148, 149. 2 /&., p. 158.
L
146 ANTHONY HAMILTON
foot of her sister's letter to Hamilton and the faithful lover
is once more in disgrace. " Dieu veuille bien vous pardonner
toutes vos injustices ! " he writes back with mock humility,
" Ce n'etait pas la peine de vous faire tant importuner. . . .
pour m'e'crire des cruautes ; je n'ai pas laisse de baiser ces
inhumanites, et de vous en remercier, comme je fais bien
humblement ; car c'est toujours m'ecrire que de m'ecrire
en colre, et c'est ce que vous ne ferez plus, des que vos
appas ne logeront qu'a trois pas de moi/' 1
If we associate Anthony Hamilton more with Henrietta
Bulkeley than with the other ladies for whom and to whom
he wrote, it is because his prose works are infinitely superior
to his poetry and his letters are thus more easily read than
the far more numerous chansons and rondeaux written in
honour of ' Clare/ ' Clarice/ ' Vance/ ' Laire/ in other
words of Charlotte Bulkeley, Viscountess Clare. Needless
to say, the ' adorable Varice ' is cruel and unkind, and,
like all the other nymphs to whom Hamilton presents his
homages, she is a ' tigress/ One is more than once reminded
of the complicated but superficial gallantry of Voiture, of
Voiture posing as the hapless lover of Sylvie and Uranie.
Like Voiture Hamilton delights to complain of the unjust
harshness with which he is treated. " Pray, Madam/' he
writes very seriously to a lady in a note accompanying a
copy of verses which he had composed in her name for her
sister, Mrs. Nugent, " pray, Madam, be pleased to write
out these verses with your own fair hand. I should be very
loath that anybody should beleive that I could be so ridicu-
lous, as to be so bold, as to presume to go about, to take
the liberty to endeavour to write anything for you, that
were worthy to be own'd in a manner, as it were a thing
proceeding from your own sweet judgment and imagina-
tion ; and, moreover, lett me tell you, that Mylady your
sister would not tuch this song or sonnet with a paire of
tongs, so be that her Ladyship could suspect that I had
a hand in the matter ; the truth is that her mind and fancy
does so runn on a younger brother of mine, lately come from
the wars, that it would pity your soul to see how she uses
one." 2 His lot, he says elsewhere, is always to be much
1 GZuvres, p. 1 59.
1 Jb., edition of 1776, Vol. VII, pp. 26-27, r edition of 1777, Vol.
VII, p. 30. The only English letter ever printed and only in these par-
ticular editions.
THE POET OF SAINT-GERMAIN 147
more appreciated when he is at a distance than when he
is present, especially by those whom he desires most of all
to please, 1 and sometimes the ladies for whom he writes
affect to despise not only him but his writings ; he has no
more authority as a poet than a prophet has honour in his
own country. 2 At times he fixes on the walls of Venus'
temple his arms and his useless lyre (Regina, sublimi flagello
tange Chloen semel arrogantem), but it is not long before
he forgets the decisive step he has taken. 3
Through his connexion with the Gramonts Hamilton
became known to other circles. In January, 1701, the
Mercure Galant printed the letter he had written in
Gramont's name to the Due de Berry. 4 A letter likewise
written in Gramont's name to Boileau first roused the
latter 's curiosity as to the person of the author, " Quis
novus hie vestris successit sedibus hospes ? " he asks of the
Due de Noailles who had forwarded the letter. 5 And though
Hamilton was never willing to have his works printed 6
(nor would he have applied the term ' works ' to his writings),
he sent his friends manuscript copies of whatever struck
him as a pretty piece of wit. Dangeau received a copy of
one of his letters to Berwick which, unfortunately, has not
come down to us and he writes back to say that the letter
has been " du gout de tous les honnetes gens de Marli." 7
To Madame de Caylus Hamilton sent a manuscript of
Le Belier and two other volumes of his compositions. 8
Madame, mother of the Regent, was honoured in the same
way. 9 Madame de Maintenon was well enough acquainted
1 OSuvres, III, p. 157.
2 Ib., p. 144.
8 Ib., p. 302.
4 " Je suis bien aise," the Mercure remarks to the reader, " de vous
pouvoir envoyer une copie de la lettre que vous avez tant envie de voir.
Elle est extremement recherchee et vostre curiosit6 s'accorde en cela avec
celle de toute la cour."
* Hamilton, (Euvres, III, p. 192.
6 Avis du Libraire, Fleur d'Epine, 1731.
7 Hamilton, (Euvres, III, p. 54.
8 Bibl. Nat., ma. fr. 32964, Nos. 357 and 358. These letters from
Hamilton to Madame de Caylus have been printed in Du Boscq de Beau-
mont et Bernos, La Cour des Stuarts a Saint-Germain en Laye, but for some
reason or other the authors have not reproduced the remark on Le Btlier
which is a postscript to the second of the letters.
9 Lettres, II, pp. no, in.
148 ANTHONY HAMILTON
with his writings to declare that a certain " Histoire de la
Poupee " had not and could not have come from his pen. 1
A set of verses that Hamilton had sent to Coulanges in
answer to some he had received, was copied out by Cou-
langes and forwarded to Madame de Grignan. " Eh bien,
Madame, n'etes-vous pas contente de cette re*ponse et
ne merite-t-elle pas bien que je vous 1'envoie ? " 2 A
translation of the Essay on Criticism reached Pope, who
with great exaggeration remarked that Hamilton's verses
were no more translations of his than Virgil's were of
Homer, but that they were " the justest imitation, and the
noblest Commentary/' 3 Boileau and others received
copies of his famous " Epistle to Gramont," and the great
critic, pleased by a flattering allusion to himself, wrote
back that everything in the Epistle had struck him as
" fin, spirituel, agreable et inge*nieux " and that the one
thing he objected to was its shortness. 4 It is this Epistle,
written in the end of 1704 or in the very beginning of 1705,
that first won Hamilton a certain amount of celebrity.
Complimentary letters in prose and in verse congratulated
him on his achievement, and these letters, copied and circu-
lated in turn, contributed as much to the renown of him
who was their object as to the fame of the ingenious authors.
With this letter we are not far off from the Memoires de
Grammont, for Hamilton is here considering the question of
leaving to posterity an account of the chevalier's exploits.
The Memoirs, as we know, appeared in print in 1713, six
years after Gramont's death, but they seem to have been
written during his lifetime, viz. in 1705 or I7o6. 6 There
is a well-known anecdote to the effect that it was Gramont
himself who sold the manuscript for fifteen hundred francs,
and that it was Gramont who, after complaining to the
Lord Chancellor, forced the unwilling Fontenelle, at that
time censor, to license the book. Duclos, who tells this
story, assures us that he had it from Fontenelle himself. 6
There is probably a certain amount of truth in it ; not that
Gramont sold the manuscript which appeared only some
Geffroy, Madame de Maintenon d'apr&s sa correspondence, II, p. 148.
S6vigne, Lettres, X, pp. 495, 496.
Pope, Works (London, Elwin and Courthope, 1886), X, p. 103.
Hamilton, (Euvres, III, p. 48.
Cf. p. 202 infra.
Duclos, (Euvres (Paris, 1821), III, p. 462.
THE POET OF SAINT-GERMAIN 149
time after his death, not that he obliged Fontenelle to give
his consent, since the book appeared under the rubric of
Cologne and so needed no licence, but it is quite possible
that Gramont wished to have the book published and that
Fontenelle uncompromisingly opposed its publication.
In any case, Gramont cannot have carried on his struggle
with Fontenelle long. His health for some time past had
been critical ; twice he had been on the verge of death,
in 1692 and again in 1702. His friends called these recoveries
' resurrections/ and remarked that he crossed and re-
crossed Cocytus with more ease than they could cross a
brook. 1 During his illness in 1692 the pious Countess had
been in great distress about her husband's salvation, for
no one could pretend that Gramont had much ' religion.'
Allait-il souvent a la Messe ?
Entendait-il vepres, sermon ?
S'appliquoit-il a 1'oraison ?
II en laissoit le soin a la Comtesse. 2
Madame de Gramont read to her husband, prayed with
him and seems to have instructed the one-time Abbe, the
Chevalier du Saint- Esprit, in the rudiments of religion ;
at least, if Saint-Simon and Madame may be believed.
The latter, and she gives the Countess as her authority,
relates that when the Countess read the passage where the
Apostles abandon Christ, Gramont began to weep and
said : " Oh, the traitors ! But why did He choose out
varlets as His followers and common people like fishermen ?
Why did He not rather have Himself attended by Gascon
noblemen ? They would never have abandoned or betrayed
Him/' 3 The Countess was not the only one who thought
of his salvation. Dangeau is sent by the King. " Gramont,
il faut songer a Dieu," and Gramont, amused at so much
solicitude, turns with difficulty to his wife, " Comtesse, si
vous n'y prenez garde, Dangeau vous escamotera ma
conversion ! " His philosopher, Saint-Evremond, is so
charmed by this remark that he exclaims : " Je voudrois
etre mort et avoir dit en mourant ce que vous avez dit dans
1'agonie." 4
1 Hamilton, (Euvres, III, pp. 193, 197.
* Saint-Evremond, (Euvres, V, p. 192.
* Madame, Lettres, I, p. 128 ; cf. Menagiana (Paris, 1715), III, p. 14.
4 Saint-Evremond, V, p. 198.
150 ANTHONY HAMILTON
We do not know to follow out Gramont's train of
thought whether the Countess or Dangeau was successful,
but, in any case, Gramont adopted a kind of piety which
seemed to satisfy his contemporaries. We find Fenelon
wishing him a long and happy life since he seriously intends
to make good use of it, 1 and Saint-Evremond, who hears
the news from Ninon, believes his ' conversion ' to be
' honest and sincere.' 2 Neither Saint-Evremond nor Ninon
can be said to dwell in the House of God, or even in the
outer courts ; but in the opinion of Saint-Evremond and
the men of his time it was a natural, one would almost say
the correct, thing to retire after a long period of riotous and
careless living and to prepare oneself to ' die well/ In
December, 1706, Gramont had an attack of apoplexy and
in the end of January he died, though one of his last and
very characteristic remarks was, " II n'y a que les sots qui
meurent. >>3 He had attained the age of eighty-five, retain-
ing his energy and spirits to the very end, the only old man
who could not be called ridiculous, according to Ninon.
With Gramont there disappears from the scene one of the
most extraordinary of the great King's courtiers, a man
famed for his ' grand air,' his extravagance, his adventures
in love, his success as a gamester, his unabashed shameless-
ness, his familiarity with the King, his insolence to the
great at court, known above all for his gifts of repartee, for
his wit more often charitable than otherwise. The author
of the supposititious Letters of Waller and Saint-Evremond
is not far from truth when he makes Gramont remark to
Rochester that if he could by any means divest himself of
one-half of his wit, the other half would make him the most
agreeable man in the world. 4 " Diseur de bon mot mauvais
caractre," wrote La Bruyere, and the manuscript keys to
his book at once named the Comte de Gramont as one of
the men he had in mind. 6 Gramont's wit pleased those
1 Correspondance, VI, p. 258.
* (Euvres, V, p. 195.
8 Maintenon, Lettres incites, I, pp. 69, 75.
4 Letters supposed to have passed, etc., I, p. I .
6 La Bruydre, (Euvres (Ed. des Grands Ecrivains), I, pp. 330, 533.
Gramont's numerous bon mots are, as a rule, too well known to be repeated
here. One does not come across the two following anecdotes quite so often.
" Le comte de Grammont voyant que Louis XIV ne donnoit aucun
ben6nce a 1'Abbe de Feuquidres, son neveu, lui dit, ' Sire, j'avois toujoure
cm que 1'Abbe de Feuquieres homme d'une conduite a engager Votre
THE POET OF SAINT-GERMAIN 151
who were not its victims, and for the sake of his wit much
was forgiven him. Madame de Sevigne remarks, " M. de
Gramont . . . est en possession de dire toutes choses sans
qu'on ose s'en facher." x None delighted more in his
brilliance than Bussy, that kindred spirit. It is Bussy, by
the way, who describes him as a very good friend but a
terrible enemy. 2 That much at least can be said to the
credit of Gramont that he never abandoned his friends ;
after his disgrace Fenelon wrote gratefully to the Countess,
assuring her that he would always remember that the Count
had not been ashamed of him and that he had openly con-
fessed him before the courtiers of Marly. 3
But if Gramont 's friends considered him one of the most
original and delightful of men, his enemies hated him with
most excellent hatred. Of his enemies none was more
bitter and virulent than Saint-Simon, 4 and it is the most
passionate dislike that has inspired the following portrait
or series of portraits, though doubtless there is much truth
in what he says. " Le Comte de Gramont etoit un vieux
sacripant de cour et de monde et qui avoit honte bue sur
Majeste de penser a lui, mais comme votre choix est la recompense du
merite et qu'il n'est point encore tombe sur lui, je suis porte a croire qu'il
est sans merite. Si Votre Majeste 1'oublie dans la premiere nomination,
trouvez bon que je le fasse enfermer dans un Seminaire pour le reste de
ses jours.' Louis XIV ouvrit les yeux sur cet Abbe et lui donna une bonne
abbaye.
" La musique de Louis XIV ex6cutait le ' Miserere magnifique ' de Lully.
Le Roy etant a genoux y tenait toute sa cour. II demanda a la fin du
Pseaume au Comte de Grammont comment il trouvait la musique. ' Sire,
dit le Comte, elle est fort douce a 1'oreille, mais elle est bien rude aux
genoux.' " (Amelot de la Houssaye, Memoires Historiques, Politiques,
Critiques et Litteraires (Amsterdam, 1738), III, pp. 336-337.)
1 Lettres, IV, p. 12. " Jamais homme n'a ete plus agreable," says an
unknown writer (Bibl. Nat, ms. fr. 12618, p. 177). The contemporary
annotator of the Memoir es de Sourches has a great admiration for Gramont.
" Le caractere de son esprit le rendoit inimitable ; il etoit tou jours nouveau
quoiqu'il plaisantoit depuis cinquante ans et plus ; il ne disoit jamais les
choses comme les autres et leur donnoit toujours un tour infiniment
agreable ; la moindre bagatelle devenoit en sa bouche une plaisanterie
charmante par le sel dont il savoit 1'accompagner, et cela si naturellement
qu'il sembloit qu'on ne pouvoit pas le dire d'une autre maniere, quoique
personne ne le put dire de meme." (Sourches, III, p. 303.)
2 Lettres, II, p. 312. 3 Correspondance, VI, p. 277.
4 Saint-Simon had been brought up in an atmosphere hostile to the
court of Louis XIV, and a courtier of the type of Gramont could not but
be distasteful to him. There was another, more personal, reason. Saint-
Simon had suddenly left the army in the middle of a campaign ; his con-
duct was viewed very disfavourably at court, and Gramont's merciless
wit had not failed him on this occasion. (Histoire Genealogique de la Maison
de Gramont, p. 241.)
152 ANTHONY HAMILTON
tout. . . . C'etoit un homme de beaucoup d'esprit, mais de
ces esprit s de plaisanteries, de reparties, de finesse et de jus-
tesse a trouver le mauvais, le ridicule, le foible de chacun,
de le peindre en deux coups de langue irreparables et in-
effacables, d'une hardiesse a le faire en public en presence
et plutot devant le roi qu'ailleurs, sans que me'rite, grandeur,
faveur et places en pussent garantir hommes ni femmes
quelconques. A ce me'tier, il amusoit et il instruisoit le roi
de mille choses cruelles, avec lequel il s'e*toit acquis la
libert^ de tout dire, 1 jusque de ses ministres. C'e*toit un
chien enrage a qui rien n'e*chappait. Sa poltronnerie connue
le mettoit au-dessous de toute suite de ses morsures. Avec
cela escroc avec impudence et fripon au jeu a visage de*-
couvert, et joua gros toute sa vie, d'ailleurs prenant a
toutes main et toujours gueux, sans que les bienfaits du Roi,
dont il tira toujours beaucoup d'argent aient pu mettre
tant soit peu a son aise. ... II attrapa les premieres entries
chez le Roi a qui il se rendit agre*able par son assiduite*, ses
bouffonneries et se montrer valet a tout faire. . . . Nulle
bassesse ne lui coutoit aupr&s des gens qu'il avait le plus
dechires lorsqu'il avoit besoin d'eux, pret a recommencer des
qu'il en auroit eu ce qu'il en vouloit ; ni parole ni honneur
en quoi que ce fut, jusque la qu'il faisoit mille contes plaisants
de lui-meme et qu'il tiroit gloire de sa turpitude. . . . Ce
ne fut pas une le*gre tache a notre cour qu'un aussi publique-
ment malhonnete homme. C'etoit un homme a qui tout
etoit permis et qui se permettoit tout. De ses dits et de ses
faits, on en feroit des volumes, mais qui seroient deplorable
1 " Le comte avail une grande Iibert6 de langage et le Roi riait de tout
ce qu'il disait ; le jour pourtant ou il resolut le siege de Maestricht le Roi
demeura stup6fait de sa franchise. C'etoit a Tongres ; le Roi avait pen-
dant trois heures conf6r6 avec Louvois, qui 1'avoit indispos6 contre les
courtisans parce que ceux-ci, 4 toutes les entreprises trouvaient quelque
chose 4 redire. Le Roi, venant s'asseoir a table avec les principaux cour-
tisans qui ont coutume, en campagne de partager ses repas, declara d'un
ton assez dur, qu'il avait resolu le siege de Maestricht, qu'il n'avait cure
des criailleries des courtisans et qu'il ne se souciait nullement de leurs
personnes. II revint a. la charge, disant qu'il n'avait que du mepris pour
eux ; tous se tenaient silencieux et tremblants lorsque le Comte de Gramont,
se levant de table et mettant chapeau bas riposta : ' Sire, les courtisans
sont pauvres ; ils sont les premiers de vos sujets ; c'est sur eux que tombe
tout le mal. Ils dorment sur la terre, s'exposent, biens et personnes, pour
le service de Votre Majeste, ne disent rien qui ne soit dans votre interdt ;
ils ne ressemblent pas a. ceux qui viennent de s'entretenir avec Votre
Majest6 ; ceux-li dorment dans de bons lits, ne courent aucun risque,
bien plus, ils sont tout couverts d'or et d'argent.' Le Roi ne souffla mot
et tous les courtisans coururent embrasser le comte." (Primi Visconti,
Mtmoires, pp. 52-53.)
THE POET OF SAINT-GERMAIN 153
si on en retranchoit Feffronterie, les saillies et souvent la
noirceur. Avec tous ces vices sans melanges d'aucun
vestige de vertu, il avoit debelle la cour et la tenoit en
respect et en crainte : aussi se sentit-elle delivre d'un
fleau que le Roi favorisa et distingua toute sa vie. ...
Son visage etoit celui d'un vieux singe." 1
At Versailles it was supposed that the Countess would
not feel great grief at the death of a husband who certainly
had not numbered constancy among his virtues. His
brother-in-law closes his Memoirs by remarking that
Gramont at last received Mademoiselle Hamilton as the
reward of a constancy which he had never known before
or practised since. " On vous aura parle sans doute de mes
amours en ce pays-ci," writes Gramont on one occasion
from England to Lionne, long after his marriage. 2 A
chanson alluding to Gramont 's love affairs is explained
by the following naive note : " It is impossible to know with
whom the Comte de Gramont was in love at the time, for
he is such an extraordinary man that perhaps he did not
know himself/' 3 At the same time he was a most jealous
husband. The Countess once confessed to the Abbe Primi
Visconti that he was the only man the Count did not suspect.
He would come home suddenly and unexpectedly ; when
he was supposed to be away playing at ' brelan,' he would
be in hiding behind a door or occasionally, in a fit of jealousy,
he would carry off his wife to his country house in Beam. 4
The Countess seems to have borne it all with great dignity ;
Saint-Simon says that she joined a wifely dutifulness and
respect to the perfect knowledge of her husband's mis-
demeanours and ' miseres,' and a most sincere contempt
for them. 5
1 Saint-Simon, XIV, pp. 262-268, 470-472 (Additions to Dangeau, IV,
p. 206, and XI, p. 293). English editors of the MJmoires de Grammont
have sometimes credited Dangeau with the remarks that Saint-Simon
scrawled on the margin of Dangeau's journal. Dangeau is made to say
of Gramont, " Son visage etoit celui d'un vieux singe." The excellent
Dangeau Saint-Simon finds his journal " d'une fadeur a faire vomir "
was incapable of any such highly coloured and uncharitable statement.
' Aff. Etr., Corr. Pol. d'Angleterre, 99, f. 246, July I2th, 1670.
3 Bibl. Nat. ms., fr. 12618, p. 177.
4 Primi Visconti, Mdmoires, pp. 52-53, 137. Cf. p. 54, where the
following explanation is given of the Count's jealousy : " Alors que la
comtesse sa femme etoit encore a Londres, il 1'avait trouvee si facile, avant
meme qu'il ne 1'eut epousee, qu'il la supposait plus facile encore pour les
autres."
5 M6moires, XVI, pp. 73, 501.
154 ANTHONY HAMILTON
But after the death of her husband those who knew her
were amazed to see how downcast and discouraged she was
for a while. Her ill-health added to the depression of her
spirits ; she was constantly in tears, the fear of death
weighed heavily upon her, she thought herself abandoned
by her friends ; in short, as Madame de Maintenon remarked,
her strength of character and her English courage seemed
to have failed her completely. l She lived alone and intended
to retire altogether from court, but the King would not hear
of it. 2 When she reappeared at Versailles, the well-informed
hinted mysteriously that the Countess had come back for
certain reasons, and those who wished Madame de Maintenon
to think them her friends, insinuated that the widow had
certain ' pretensions/ 8 Her ill-health, however, increased
and she died in June of the next year, 1708, after two months
of great suffering which she endured with no little courage
and piety, so Madame de Maintenon herself tells us. 4
Even before her death many had been anxious to secure
Pontalie. The day after she died Pontalie was given to the
Marshal d'Harcourt and her rooms at Versailles to the Due
de Villeroy. 6 One favourite disappears and there are
twenty ready to fill the vacant space. A fleeting thought
is given to those who disappear and the place wherein they
dwelt knows them no more.
1 Lettres inedites, I, p. 106. " On n'auroit pas cm autrefois," writes the
Princesse des Ursins in reply, " que M. son man cut pu si fort contribuer
a sa consolation." (Ib., Ill, p. 464.)
* Saint-Simon, XVI, p. 73.
^ " J'aurois de la peine," writes Madame de Maintenon to the Princesse
des Ursins, " a vous ecrire toutes les sottises qu'on lui imputait [a la
Comtesse de Gramont], qui se r6duisent pourtant a attendre ma mort avec
impatience pour remplir ma place. Elle auroit pu 1'envisager depuis
quatre jours que j'ai eu une tres violente fievre." (Lettres inedites, I,
pp. 142-143 I cf. pp. 123-124.)
4 Ib., p. 266. She seems to have passed through deep waters. " Elle
avoit toujours vecu," we read in the Mercure Galant for July (pp. 302-303),
" d'une maniere qui devoit empecher qu'elle apprehendat les approches de
la mort ; cependant elle a fait connaftre que les plus justes la doivent
craindre dans ces terribles moments."
* Lettres ine'dites, I, p. 265 ; Sourches, XI, p. 93.
CHAPTER X
1706-1719
THE END
THE year in which Madame de Gramont died was
an important one for the Jacobites of Saint-
Germain. ' James III ' had attained his majority
in June, 1706, and the one great desire of the
young king was to go to Scotland, though Louis was against
the plan. In the end Louis gave in to public opinion, 1 and
six thousand men were given to the Pretender, as his enemies
now began to call him. Forbin was chosen to command the
fleet and the Duke of Perth, Middleton, Skelton, Richard
Hamilton and a few other English officers accompanied
James to Dunkirk in March, 1708. According to Saint-
Simon Anthony Hamilton also took part in the expedition,
but Dangeau's Journal and Sourches' Memoirs only men-
tion Richard Hamilton, the oldest of the lieutenants-
general. 2
The ill-luck of the Stuarts attended them. After hin-
drances and difficulties of all kinds, including the ill-
health of the King, they embarked on the I7th of March.
Near the Firth of Forth they beheld a large number of
English battleships, and Forbin, anxious to save his fleet,
put out to sea again, in spite of all that Perth, Richard
Hamilton and the other English officers could say or do.
He would neither land James at Edinburgh nor sail to
Inverness, as it was proposed he should do, but returned
to France. James seems to have been the victim of the
1 " Jamais entreprise n'a eu un si general applaudissement que celle-la
. . . depuis M. le dauphin jusqu'au dernier galopin de la cour et aux
harengeres de la halle de Paris, tout vouloit qu'on allat en Ecosse." (Main-
tenon, Lettres incites, I, p. 243.)
1 Cf. Luttrel, Relation of State Affairs, VI, p. 252. Besides the French
general officers on board he has with him four of his own country, viz.
Dorrington, Richard Hamilton, Skelton and Galmahoy.
155
156 ANTHONY HAMILTON
jealousy existing between Pont chart rain and Chamillart,
and the lack of zeal on Forbin's part ; moreover, if Saint-
Simon is to be believed, Middleton's loyalty was not above
suspicion. Forbin's Memoirs read like the apologia of a
man anxious to prove that the expedition could not possibly
succeed and who at the outset had remarked that the utmost
they could hope for was to return in safety. 1
The despondency at Saint- Germain was indescribable.
Mary of Modena, usually so brave, could not keep from
sobbing when she attempted to speak. 2 She now wrote
to Louis, asking him whether her son might enter his service
and take part in this campaign, because, she said, she had
heard that the Duke of Marlborough had remarked men
were astonished in England that the Prince had not yet
been to the army. 3 Permission was granted ; the Chevalier
de St. George served that year under the Due de Bour-
gogne and was present at Oudenarde. 4 Richard Hamilton
accompanied him, and when Hamilton left Saint-Germain,
the Queen entreated him to have every care of his young
master. " In the dreadfull expectation wee are in of a
battle," she writes on the ist of September, " i can not say
anything to you but coniure you to remember your promise
to me not to quit the King one step in a day of action and
also to tell him frankly and positively what is fitt for him
to do, for he has promised the King of France and me at
parting that he would upon such occasions do what you and
Mr. Sheldon should advise, i relye extremely upon your
judgment." 6
The year following, 1709, accompanied by Richard
Hamilton, Middleton and Sheldon, James again joined the
army of Flanders, under Villars, and it was reported that
the English had seen him at Malplaquet and were delighted
with him and that Marlborough had drunk his health. 8
1 See St. Simon, XV ; Dangeau, XII ; Sourches, XI ; Forbin, Memoires;
Berwick, Mtmoires ; Colbert (Torcy), Journal, Mercure, April, 1708, etc.
8 Maintenon, Lettres intdites, I, 240.
8 Aff. Etr., Mtmoires et Documents, Angleterre, Vol. XXIV, f. 108.
4 Berwick, Mtmoires, p. 405.
5 B.M., Add. MSS. 18966, f. 7. The letter from which this and the
following quotations are taken is given in full in Appendix VII, pp. 296-297.
6 Dangeau, XII, p. 434; Maintenon, Lettres intdites, I, p. 465. See
also a Lettre circulaire de la mire superieure de la Visitation de Sainte-
Marie [de Chaillot], dated Chaillot, Oct. joth, 1712, p. 6. "... Le terns
de la celebre et malheureuse bataille de Malplaquet. Comme Sa Majeste
etoit en ce monastere avec la Princesse on luy manda que le Roy son nls.
THE END 157
In 1710 he left ' for the wars ' in May, ' with much good
will and very little health/ 1 to serve again under Villars,
and the poor mother, before she retired to Chaillot to
spend her time praying for her son's safety, recommended
him earnestly to Hamilton's care and made him promise
that he would write regularly to let her know how the King
was. " The tre of the 10 brings news," she writes on the
I2th of July to Hamilton, " that the enemys were marching
and that if they will com to Arras ther must be a battle,
wher i know the King will be, if he be able, and i praise him
for it, but at the same time you can not but beleeve that
my poor heart akes, I putt all my confidence in God who
has given him to me and i hope in his mercie he will preserve
him ; after that i put my trust in you that you will be
close to him and let him do no more than is fitt for him as
you promised me when you took leave of me." 2
This campaign was known as " the King's Third Cam-
paign," and as in the preceding one, the English saw the
young Chevalier de St. George. One morning when James
was out riding with Richard Hamilton and Charles Booth,
a groom of the Bedchamber, they came across a group of
their own soldiers talking to the enemy across the river.
Charles Booth and Hamilton rode forward and finding
several English and Scots among the enemy, they inquired
after their friends, and Hamilton sent his services to Marl-
borough and ' Lord George/ 3 Then Hamilton showed them
the King who was on the bank of the river. 4 The King's
health continued to be far from satisfactory, so, in August,
Hamilton wrote to the Queen " the naked truth of the
King's condition," and the Queen at once despatched her
qui avoit la fidvre tierce s'etoit fait porter au camp pour se trouver au
combat. . . . Son Altesse Royale pleurait sans cesse, mais elle prioit en
me'me temps sans relache. Deux jours aprds Ton seut que le Roy s'etant
expose en personne au plus grand feu de cette sanglante journee en etoit
sorti glorieusement."
1 Maintenon, Lettres inldites, II, p. 66.
* B.M., Add. MSS., 18966, f. 3.
3 Lord George Hamilton, no doubt, a lieutenant-general under Marl-
borough.
4 This is the incident which Thackeray describes in Esmond. " ' There's
a friend of yours, gentlemen, yonder/ " Thackeray makes Hamilton re-
mark. " ' He bids me say he saw some of your faces on the i ith of September
last.' . . . We knew at once who it was. It was the King, then two-and-
twenty years old, tall and slim, with deep brown eyes that looked melan-
choly though his lips wore a smile. We took off our hats and saluted him.
(Esmond (Nelson's New Century Library), pp. 383-385.) Cf. Macpherson,
Original Papers, II, p. 171.
158 ANTHONY HAMILTON
surgeon to examine the King. His report reassured her,
but she wrote and thanked Hamilton for writing so openly :
"it is a satisfaction to me to have from you an account
of the King, becaus i dare count upon it to be literally trew
and that is what i would have, and for which and your having
done it so constantly in this his last illnesse, i can never
thank you enough, but i am sure i shall never forgett it." 1
In 1711 James spent the summer travelling in France,
and Richard Hamilton doubtless accompanied him. In
1712 his health once more gave the Queen great cause
for anxiety ; he suffered from an attack of small-pox,
but recovered happily ; the Princess, his sister, however,
died, and with her went the joy of St. Germain. Well might
James write to the Pope, " Nostrum inter tantas fortunae
angustias praecipuum decus periit et gaudium." 2 His
illness delayed his departure from France on which the
English were now insisting, but it was understood that as
soon as he was well enough he would leave the country.
Even his friends were anxious that he should go so that
a conclusion of peace, which necessarily preceded ayn
movement in his favour, might be brought about. He
went to Chalons in September and spent the greater part
of the winter there. Richard Hamilton, as the Master of
the Robes, 8 was one of those who accompanied him, but in
the end of February, 1713, the French court saw Hamilton
suddenly return to Saint-Germain while James went on to
Bar in Lorraine. The Queen allowed him to occupy his old
rooms at the palace and to retain his office, but as a matter
of fact he was no longer in the service of the King. The
reasons for his dismissal were not made public. 4
What had happened was, briefly, this : Secret negotiations
with England had been going on all the time, but in the
very end of 1712 the Abbe* Gaultier gave James to under-
stand that he must part with his Secretary of State, for as
long as Middleton remained with him, his friends in England
would hesitate about disclosing their plans. 5 Richard
Hamilton was suggested as a suitable substitute. Both
B.M., Add. MSS. 18966, f. i.
Hist. MSS. Comm., Stuart Papers at Windsor. I, p. 244.
Ib., p. 162.
Dangeau, XIV, pp. 129, 217, 349.
Salomon, Geschichte des letzten Ministeriums Konigin Annas von
England, p. 189.
THE END
James and the Duke of Berwick were under the impression
that these proposals emanated from a cabal whose sole
object was to raise Hamilton at the expense of Middleton,
Gaultier being a great friend of the Hamiltons. 1 Father
Innes writing from Paris in January to Middleton says :
" I was never more surprised than when the Queen showed
me some letters the King had sent her about Mr. Massey
[Middleton], and the more I think of it the more I am
convinced, that villainy must proceed originally either
from the Irish, to remove one they generally look upon as
none of their friends, and to make way for one of their
friends, or else that it is a trick of the Whig's invention to
ruin Jonathan [the King] by insinuating a correspondence
with them to give jealousy to the other party." 2 Middleton
expressed himself quite ready to go, but the Queen did
not wish to hear of his leaving and James was most reluctant.
He desired Torcy to find out through some channel other
than Gaultier what Oxford and the English Jacobites really
thought of Middleton, and finally, as a proof of his con-
fidence in Oxford, he requested the latter to send him
from England a person worthy of their confidence, to act
as his adviser if Middleton must really go, Hamilton being
out of the question for such a post. 3 As for Hamilton,
he was, as we have seen, dismissed for having attempted
to get Middleton removed. In a letter the Queen calls him
" the troublesome hero of this disagreeable scene," and
remarks that the King is very sensible how much he was
mistaken in this man. 4
Torcy now wrote to Gaultier that the departure of M.
Hamilton must not lessen the forwarding of the King's
affairs, but that Gaultier must address himself directly
to him. 5 Hamilton's disgrace did not, however, make
Middleton more popular, for the Jacobites in England
1 Ib., p. 328. The editor of the calendar of Stuart Papers (Hist. MSS.
Comm.), referring in Vol. I, p. xliii to Salomon, translates inaccurately that
" James wrote to M. de Torcy from Chalons, suspecting that Berwick was
caballing in favour of Hamilton."
2 Macpherson, Original Papers, II, pp. 371-372.
8 Salomon, pp. 328-329. He writes with some bitterness, " Ceux qui
donnent a entendre qu'ils sont de mes amis attendent de moi une confiance
aveugle ... me tiennent dans une ignorance profonde, veulent oter la
seule personne autour de moi qui merite et qui possdde ma confiance, et
me privent de tout conseil."
* Macpherson, II, p. 382.
6 Hist. MSS. Comm., Stuart Papers, I, p. 256.
160 ANTHONY HAMILTON
"feared an ill character of Mr. Philips" [Middleton],
because he was the cause of Mr. Hamilton's leaving Mr.
Jenkins [the King]. 1 Nor were all convinced of Hamilton's
guilt ; Berwick again and again assured James that he
could not without certain proof suspect a man who for these
sixty years past had always borne the character of an
honest man 2 and subsequent correspondence revealed that
Gaultier had not misrepresented things in Hamilton's
favour when he insisted on the distrust with which the
English Jacobites regarded Middleton. As Innes suggests,
many probably thought that Mr. Massey [Middleton] had
contributed to the King's being so firm in his religion and
for that reason wished him removed. 3 A Jacobite agent
remarked to Lord Newcastle that " people in England were
loth to shew themselves or venture any thing whilst he
the King had so ill advisers," and Lord Newcastle realised
that he was alluding to Middleton, " since he changed his
religion, they had not soe good an opinion of him." 4 The
Duchess of Buckinghamshire wrote to her brother, the
Duke of Berwick, to ask whether it was really true that
Hamilton was no longer with James and why he had left
him, adding that the Protestant Jacobites were very much
displeased, because they could not suffer Mylord Middle-
ton. 6 Even Torcy became convinced that the only motive
which actuated Hamilton's partisans was distrust of Middle-
ton. 6 It would therefore seem that James dismissed
Hamilton somewhat rashly from his service, though doubt-
less Hamilton had by no means opposed the cabal formed
against Middleton ; the prospect of becoming Secretary
of State cannot but have been a pleasant one to him.
Two years later when Richard Hamilton wished to go
to Ponthey in Lorraine, to visit his niece, he had humbly
to ask permission of James through the Duke of Berwick,
promising not to pass through Bar, James's residence, nor
even to be at Ponthey when James went to the waters of
Plombieres. 7 In the rising of 1715 he had no part. In 1716
Macpherson, II, p. 425.
Hist. MSS. Comm., Stuart Papers, I, p. 258.
Macpherson, II, pp. 371-372.
76., p. 377.
Stuart Papers, I, 260.
Ib.
Ib. t pp. 350-35L
THE END 161
he was bBck at St. Germain, where there devolved upon
him the sad task of conducting the body of the Duke of
Perth to the College des Ecossais. 1 One by one the lights
were going out. Louis had died the year before. The
Hamiltons were considered ' vieille cour ' and old-fashioned.
Anthony Hamilton's health had begun to fail ; he probably
suffered from gout, like his friends Chaulieu, La Fare and
Coulanges. Already in 1713 Berwick had remarked :
" I wonder M. Antony [sic] Hamilton will still be rambling,
his age and infirmitys should induce him to be quiet some-
where with his friends. 2 But the Hamiltons had scarcely
any friends or relatives left and the pleasure of ' rambling '
was surely a most innocent one in a life that was becoming
very dreary. No doubt Berwick could not help nourishing
some resentment against the man who had described his
mother as " cette haridelle de Churchill/' 3
The poverty of the exiles was worse than ever. The
pensions they depended on were often not forthcoming.
" Saint- Germain is dying of hunger," the poor Queen was
heard to exclaim in great agitation to the nuns at Chaillot.
The great palace was half empty, many had gone to England,
others had joined the Chevalier de St. George at Bar ; the
town, however, was full of starving Irish. 4 Ever since the
death of her daughter and the departure of her son the
Queen had forsaken Saint-Germain, dwelling with the nuns,
and only returning reluctantly with tears and sighs to the
' frightful solitude ' when pressure was brought to bear
upon her and when she remembered that in the interest
of her son her presence there from time to time was neces-
sary. 5 We have one more letter from Hamilton written to
the Duke of Berwick in 1716 eight years after the last
of the letters from which quotations have been made, a
letter which has little or none of the badinage and the
familiarity of his earlier epistles. Berwick had been ap-
pointed governor of the province of Guyenne and had gone
1 Dulon, Jacques Stuart, p. 93.
* Stuart Papers, I, p. 267.
3 Hamilton, (Euvres, I, p. 337. The Memoirs appeared in print in 1713,
but had been circulated in manuscript some time already.
4 Du Boscq de Beaumont, La Cour des Stuarts, pp. 339, 352 (Memorial
de Chaillot).
8 " Elle y est accablee de la misre, quelquefois des reproches de tout
ce qui 1'environne," writes Mme de Maintenon. (Lettres incites, II, p. 411 ;
cf . Ill, p. 8 and the Memorial de Chaillot quoted in Du Boscq de Beaumont.)
162 ANTHONY HAMILTON
to Bordeaux. 1 " Je n'attendois que la nouvelle de votre
heureuse arrive'e pour vous en feliciter," says Hamilton,
" mais comment m'y prendre ? C'est 1'usage, pour ces
sortes de compliments, d'emprunter le langage des vers,
et je n'en sais plus faire, il faut etre de bonne humeur pour
cela : et trouve-t-on ici de quoi s'y mettre depuis votre
depart ; ici ou Ton ne respire que par habitude, et non
pour jouir de la vie ; ou Ton aime sans succes, ou Ton rime
sans raison, et ou Ton se marie sans savoir pourquoi ?
Le solitaire Saint-Germain
Jadis passablement fertile
A produire un couplet badin
Et quelquefois un peu malin,
N'est plus a present que 1'asile
D'un ennui qui n'a point de fin,
Et de ce loisir inutile
Qui pese plus que le chagrin." 2
Hamilton wrote very rarely now ; almost all his writings
are prior to 1712 ; 8 those for whom he had composed were
either dead or had left. The two brothers were now living
in such poverty that Richard Hamilton at last decided
in 1716 or early in 1717 to go and live with his niece, the
Abbess of Poussay, so as not to die of hunger. Saint-Simon,
who relates this, says that the niece, Marie Elizabeth de
Gramont, was very poor herself, but not quite as badly off
as her uncle, to whom she was able to offer a shelter for his
last days. He died in December, 1717. 4 Saint-Simon,
1 Berwick, Mtmoires, p. 445. It is through the allusion to this event
that the letter can be dated.
1 (Euvres, III, p. 134.
3 His works can usually be dated through references to persons or
current events ; to the Princess, who died in 1712 ; to the Gramonts who
died in 1 707 and 1 708 ; to Pontalie, which belonged to Madame de Gramont
from 1703-1708 ; to Viscountess Clare who married Lord O'Mahony in 1712
and left Saint-Germain for Spain (Dangeau, XIV, p. 158). Berwick's
Memoirs and the Divertissemens de Seaux (printed in 1712) give further
clues.
4 Dangeau, XVII, p. 216. One wonders whether Hamilton in his
poverty remembered a letter he had sent to the garrison of Londonderry :
" Yet if so wonderful a Deliverance should attend you, your Rewards
notwithstanding will be uncertain and future Interest will always be
prized beyond past merit. Eaten Bread is commonly forgotten and
former Services are too often swallowed up in Oblivion, especially if there
be no future Expectation from those that performed them. So that all
the assurances you depend upon will vanish into the Air and the Result of
all your Hardships will only be the Repetition of this miserable proverb.
We have our Labours for Our Pains." (Proposals made by Lieutenant-
THE END 163
remembering the brothers vaguely traces a portrait, as he
supposes, of Richard. Unfortunately, he confuses Anthony
and Richard and in what follows the greater part applies
to Anthony : " C'etoit un homme de beaucoup d'esprit,
qui savoit, qui amusoit, qui avoit des graces et beaucoup
d'ornement dans 1'esprit, qui avoit eu une tres aimable
figure et beaucoup de bonnes fortunes en Angleterre et en
France ou la catastrophe du roi Jacques II 1'avoit ramene.
II avoit servi avec distinction et la Comtesse de Gramont,
sa sceur, 1'avoit initie dans les compagnies les plus choisies ;
mais elles ne lui procurement aucune fortune, pas meme le
moindre abri a la pauvrete. II etoit catholique et sa sceur
1'avoit mis dans une grande piete, qui Tavoit fait renoncer
aux dames pour qui il avoit sou vent fait de tres jolis vers
et des historiettes elegantes." 1 This is obviously a com-
posite picture of the author of Fleur d'Epine and Le
Belier and of the lover of the Princesse de Conti.
What Saint-Simon says of the latter-day piety of Richard
Hamilton is certainly also true of Anthony. His sister's
influence, indirectly the influence of Port Royal, does not
seem to have made itself felt at once and some of the elegant
stories and verses were written after her death. But a
change was coming over him. Shortly after his seventieth
birthday he wrote a curious and long-winded poem, De
V Usage de la Vie dans la Vieillesse. It is no longer Horace
he quotes, but the Psalms of David.
Je dois . . .
Aprds avoir su long temps vivre
Essayer d'apprendre a mourir. 2
In this respect Hamilton is still of the seventeenth century.
He belongs to that generation of men who aimed, not at
holy living, but at holy dying, or at least at decorous dying.
The savoir-vivre of the honnte-homme included the savoir-
mourir. He not only lived gallantly but died unamazed.
Hamilton, therefore, in a leisurely fashion plans out the use
of his old age. Before he becomes too infirm, he will medi-
tate on the manner of concluding one's life, on what man is
General Hamilton to the garrison of Londonderry Together with a Copy
of the Report of the Commissioners appointed by the Honourable House
of Commons, the First Session of this Parliament, 1705.)
1 Memoires, XIV (ed. Cheruel), pp. 210-211.
* (Euvres, III, p. 303.
164 ANTHONY HAMILTON
and on what man ought to be ; before his mind begins to
give way he will prepare the account he must render his
Master ; but, above all, he will strive to bear his old age with
dignity. The great fear of him who had so mercilessly
ridiculed others, is to appear ridiculous in the eyes of the
world. Few people, he contends, know how to be old,
and when the time comes, instead of preparing for the
last hour in some retreat, they still drag about the world
and force their weary presence on those who would fain be
done with them, on those, in short, who wonder that they
" will still be rambling " when their age and their infirmities
should induce them to be quiet somewhere with their friends.
There is another of these semi-religious poems, the
Reflexions, and while one can hardly agree with Sir Walter
Scott, 1 who sees no diminution of Hamilton's powers in
these poems, one cannot but be interested in them as
documents humains. The Reflexions are even more pro-
nounced in their tendency than the Usage de la Vie dans
la Vieillesse. If Hamilton's works were to be classified,
according to the spirit that pervades them, we should
have two classes, the one utterly different from the other,
and the second class would include only the two poems
just mentioned. And the difference is not because on the
one hand we have the works of youth and on the other the
works of crabbed age ; ten years at most lie between the
Memoires de Grammont and the religious poems and
never was there a greater contrast.
Grace au ciel ! je respire enfin
Au bord fatal du precipice
Ou m'avaient entrain^ le desordre et le vice
Qui regnent dans le coeur humain ;
Le Sauveur m'a tendu la main,
Et j'ai senti cette bont6 propice
Qu'on n'invoque jamais en vain. 1
All the vain things of this earth are abjured and princi-
pally the things that charmed him most. Quietly and
calmly Hamilton awaited the end. The Queen died in May
1718. The little court was now altogether without a member
of the Royal Family. Some of the exiles went to other
countries and some withdrew to the shelter of religious
1 In the Preface to the edition of the Mbnoires de Grammont printed
in 1812.
* (Euvres, III, pp. 308-311.
THE END 165
houses. A few ladies still remained at Saint- Germain, piously
cherishing the memory of their Queen, lighting evening after
evening, so it is said, the candles on her dressing-table.
Hamilton died on the 2ist of April, 1719, aged seventy-four,
and was buried next day in the parish church of
Saint- Germain. 1 His cousins, John Nugent and Richard
Butler, together with a priest and another Englishman,
saw him to his grave. 2 His death is passed over in silence
by the indefatigable Dangeau, and Saint-Simon, as we have
seen, has so vague a recollection of the date that in his
Memoirs he confuses it with the date of Richard Hamilton's
death. In a few cases the tombstones of the Jacobites
buried in the church have been found, 3 but nothing remains
to us of Anthony Hamilton, no tablet to his memory, no
trace of an epitaph that sums up the story of a long life.
We know him best in his old age. From an engraving
made late in life, and for long supposed to be the only
likeness in existence, we carry away the impression of a
well-featured, refined face under the flowing wig, of calm
eyes that bend a penetrating gaze from beneath the shaggy
eyebrows, of a well-shaped nose and a very firm, somewhat
sensual, mouth, round which there ever lurked a mocking
smile Voltaire's words, " II etait fort satirique," come
back to our mind. His own writings and the remarks of
his contemporaries show him far advanced in life, a man
of taste and culture, gifted with an exquisite sense of the
ridiculous which went with a certain incapacity for rever-
ence, a man whom the vicissitudes of a chequered career
1 Acte de deeds, Registres paroissiaux de Saint-Germain, annee 1719,
f . 3 1 . In some early English editions of the Memoirs the date of Hamilton's
death is given as August 6th, 1 720, but in practically all other authorities
from the ' notice ' printed in the 1731 edition downwards, the date appears
as April 2ist, 1720. In 1878 the question of the date was raised in the
Intermediate des Chercheurs [1878, p. 741 ; 1879, pp. 25 and 48], but as
no direct reference was made to the parish registers, April 2ist, 1720, was
accepted. M. Dulon in his Jacques Stuart, sa Famille et les Jacobites de
Saint-Germain, pp. 103-104, quoting from the registers, once more drew
attention to the fact that the date was always given incorrectly, and
M. de Boislisle in his edition of Saint-Simon, XIV, p. 562, and M. Kissen-
berth in his Antoine d' Hamilton, sein Leben und seine Werke, have availed
themselves of his information. M. Kissenberth prints the Acte de deces
in full (p. 43). Cf. the Ancien Etat Civil de Paris (Bibl. Nat., nouv. acq.,
fr. 3618, ff. 4070-4071), where the correct date is given. C. E. Lart's
Jacobite Registers, II, p. 73, only gives the date of the ' inhumation,' viz.
April 22nd, 1719.
* Acte de deces.
3 Dulon, op. cit.
166 ANTHONY HAMILTON
had stripped of every illusion and in whom unusual oppor-
tunities for witnessing the instability of human institutions
had produced a cynical contempt for humanity and an
attitude of frivolous levity to life that was so futile ; a
' connaisseur en matire de femmes/ who united with the
most graceful gallantry towards the fair sex, a perfect and
merciless knowledge of its weaknesses ; an aristocrat for
whom the bourgeoisie was a ' foule ignoble ' and the poorer
classes a ' populace incomprehensible ' ; * an exile, proud
with the pride of poverty, though naturally modest and
of a retiring disposition, haughty with his equals when it
pleased him to be haughty, " gens d'un caract6re un peu
me'prisant," he describes himself and his kind, " mais aussi
fort me'prise's ici," 2 spare of utterance, taciturn at times
like other great wits before him, easily irritated by the
mediocrity of his fellow-men and so not altogether popular,
nor did he aim at popularity, and when all is said, he was
a foreigner and had a " bon coin de singularity," as Saint-
Simon expresses it, to which he alludes again when he
says that Hamilton and his brother were 'aimables mais
particuliers.' 3 And so he has come down to us through
the ages, a somewhat enigmatical figure, overshadowed by
him whose exploits he set himself to relate, amiable on the
whole, but slightly eccentric and redoubtable, " Anthony,
the most brilliant and most accomplished of all who bore
the name of Hamilton." 4
His two nieces, Claude Charlotte 6 and Marie Elisabeth
de Gramont, 8 survived him till 1730 and 1735. Both of
them had been maids of honour to the Dauphine and seem
to have been worthy daughters of their father if Saint-Simon
may be believed. He describes them as " fort dangereuses,
1 (Euvres, II, p. 402 ; cf. a fragment of a letter quoted in Charavay,
Lettres autographes composant la collection de M. Alfred Bovet, I, p. 413.
1 (Euvres, III, p. 400.
* Saint-Simon, XIV, p. 416 ; XVI, p. 501 ; cf. Voisenon, (Euvres, IV,
p. 129 ; the biographical note in Vol. 37 of the Cabinet des Fees ; and a
kind of humorous self-portrait traced in Zeneyde, (Euvres, III, p. 411.
* Macaulay, History of England, III, p. 243.
* She died on the 22nd of May, 1739, in England. (Bib. Nat., Pieces
originates, Vol. 1388, dossier Gramont 136.)
* Born on Dec. 27th, 1667 ; baptised on May 26th, 1669 ; died on
May 1 2th, 1735. (Bib. Nat., Pieces originates, Vol. 162, dossier 3664 ;
Vol. 1388, dossier 136.)
THE END 167
fort du grand monde . . . avec de 1'esprit comme deux
demons, mechanics et galantes a Tavenant quoique fort
laides." 1 Marie Elisabeth was made Abbess of Poussay in
1695 and led a life of great piety, though at the time of her
election to office the King was at first unwilling to ratify
the choice because she had introduced " des sentiments de
libertinage sur le sujet de la religion " at court. 2 Horace
Walpole, always interested in anything that concerned
Gramont and his relatives, tells us that she was ten times
more vain of the blood of Hamilton than of an equal amount
of the blood of Gramont, " to the great scandal," he adds
delightedly, "of the ambassadress," Madame de Mirepoix,
from whom he gleaned this story. 3 Claude Charlotte
married in 1694 " un vilain Mylord Stafford," very much
older than she. He died about the same time as Anthony
Hamilton. The marriage was not a happy one and husband
and wife soon separated. His will, dated February 2nd,
1699-1700, is an extraordinary document. " I give to the
worst of women except being a . . ., who is guilty of all
Ills, the daughter of Mr. Grammont, a Frenchman who
I have unfortunately married, five and forty brass half-
pence, which will by her a pullet to supper, a greater sume
than her father can often make her, for I have known when
he had neither money nor credit for such a purchase, being
the worst of men and his wife the worst of women in all
Debaucheries, had I known their character, I had never
married their daughter nor made myself e unhappy." 4
Lady Stafford was a chosen friend of Lady Mary Wortley
Montague, who used to say that Lady Stafford knew her
better than anybody else in the world. 5 Walpole remem-
1 Memoires, XVI, pp. 73, 502.
2 Ib., p. 75 ; Dangeau, V, p. 140 ; Archives Nationales MM. 825, f. 60
(quoted by M. Boislisle in his notes to Saint-Simon, XVI, p. 75).
3 Letters, III, p. 65.
4 Westminster Abbey Registers (Harleian Soc. Publ., 1875), pp. 295-296.
5 Letters (Everyman's edition, 1906), p. 417 ; cf. p. 241. " My Lady
Stafford set out towards France this morning and has carried half the
pleasure of my life with her." It is sometimes said (e.g. Cunningham,
Story of Nell Gwyn, p. 211, Encyclopedia Britannica, article Hamilton)
that Hamilton used to write to Lady Mary in Lady Stafford's name. There
seems to be no foundation for this statement. Lady Mary is never men-
tioned in Hamilton's correspondence, nor does Lady Mary ever speak of
Hamilton. The various MSS. collections of Lady Mary's letters contain
no letters from Hamilton. I owe this information to the kindness of Miss
E. M. Symonds. (George Paston, author of Lady Mary Wortley Montague
and her Times.)
168 ANTHONY HAMILTON
bered having seen her when he was quite a child, " she used
to live at Twickenham when Mary Wortley and the Duke
of Wharton lived there too, she had more wit than both
of them." 1
Of John Hamilton's daughter, Margaret Hamilton, we
know nothing beyond the fact that she lived for a while
with Marie Elisabeth de Gramont at Poussay and finally
married a Comte de Marmier. 2
1 Letters, III, p. 65.
Bib. Nat. ms. fr. 32964, f. 85 ; Pieces originates, Vol. 1472, No. 33357,
f. 17 (verso).
PART II
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTORY
"IT ORD DORSET and Lord Rochester/' says Pope,
" should be considered as holiday writers, as
* gentlemen that diverted themselves now and
* then with poetry, rather than poets/ 1 The
same remark applies to Hamilton. He is what Walpole
would call a ' noble author/ Literature was but an episode
amongst many others in his career. He was averse to having
his works appear in print ; l with the accidental exception
of the Memoires de Grammont none of his works were
published till long after his death. He is not a professional
writer ; he is a courtier and a soldier, whereas the author
is a bourgeois and to be patronized. He writes en homme
de qualite like Bussy before him and the Prince de Ligne
after him, and rhomme de qualite differs as an author
from rhomme de lettres in that he is under no obligation
to write and to write well ; he does it gracefully and
naturally like everything else, but there can be no question
of effort or zeal on his part. " Les gens de qualite/' we
know, " savent tout sans avoir jamais rien appris." And
so Hamilton composes carelessly ; 2 with an aristocratic
1 Avis du Libraire, Fleur d'Epine, 1730.
* In Le Better much is left unexplained, we are not told, e.g., how the
famous knife passes from Merlin's possession into that of the druid ; in
Fleur d'Epine it is not at all clearly brought out in what way Dinarzade's
story reveals what has been going on in Schahriar's council and how
Dinarzade fulfils her promise of making Schahriar acknowledge that he
himself gave away the secret of the proceedings (CEuvres, II, pp. 3, 63-65).
In Les Quatre Facardins, Hamilton forgets that he is making the Prince
de Trebizonde tell a story, and from the first person he lapses into the
third (II, 387) ; there are numerous geographical and historical inexacti-
tudes, e.g. the kingdoms of Astracan and Bactriana are spoken of as having
existed at the same time ; the Atlas is an isolated mountain almost sur-
rounded by the sea ; the Red Sea takes the place of the Persian Gulf ; in
L'Enchanteur Faustus, Jane Shore is substituted for Eleanor of Guienne,
Essex and Sidney figure as contemporary favourites of Elizabeth, etc,
m
172 ANTHONY HAMILTON
disdain for anything that savours of the pedant 1 he deliber-
ately sets himself free from the restraint of dates and order
of events in his Memoirs; his verse is full of negligences,
some of his works are unfinished, others deteriorate towards
the end, but then he never thought much of his achieve-
ments. " De mauvais vers grand e'en vain," he describes
himself, and elsewhere he likens his poems to the madrigals
of Trissotin. Apollo, he declares, has no very high opinion
of him :
Mon pauvre Hamilton,
Vous n'Stes pas du Parnasse,
Et je vois a ces couplets
Que vous n'en serez jamais. 1
He pretends to have had little to do with most of his works
Gramont himself dictates the Memoires, Le Belter is
founded on some document discovered by Mabillon, L'En-
chanteur Faustus was related to him by the Duke of
Ormonde and is really taken from the Memoirs of Sir
Philip Sidney, the Relation d'une Partie de Chasse comes
from the pen of a member of the Academy of Clermont
and so on.
In a writer of the type of Hamilton we shall not, of course,
look for depth or sentiment, he is eminently a ' wit/ but
he has considerable imagination, excellent powers of observa-
tion, an extraordinarily quick eye for the ridiculous, marked
narrative skill, a certain faculty for rhyming in difficult
metres and an even greater facility for imitating and
parodying, be it Amadis or the Arabian Nights, Horace or
Marot. 8 He is, after all, in a certain limited sense, one of
our Restoration writers and the age, as has been well said,
is one of cleverness rather than genius.
There is, however, little in him that directly recalls his
English origin his faculty of self-ridicule perhaps and
a certain dry humour which makes him say the most
absurd things with imperturbable gravity. As a matter
of fact, it is not so surprising, as some would have us believe,
that he should have become a Frenchman for all practical
purposes, and that he should write French with the greatest
1 Cf. what Hamilton says about Scaliger and Casaubon, (Euvres, II,
pp. 115-116.
1 (Euvres, III, pp. 129, 190, 251, 372.
etc.
And to these may be added Benserade, Voiture, Jean de Lingendes.
INTRODUCTORY 173
ease. 1 He lived in England and Ireland at three different
times, it is true, but never for very long. At most he can
have spent twenty-five or twenty-six years of his long life
out of France (this includes the years of his early childhood)
and we know that he lived to be seventy-four. Madame de
Gramont and her brothers seem to have corresponded only
in French. 2 Except for a curious elaborate little note
quoted elsewhere, we have really nothing English from
the pen of Hamilton. 3 He is far more versed in French
literature than in English. With the literature that pre-
ceded the Restoration he is, of course, not well acquainted ;
presumably it ' disgusted ' him with the rest of that refined
age, ' since His Majesty's being so long abroad/ He admires
the Restoration poets, but apart from them he has no great
opinion of English poetry.
Dans nos climats Ph6bus s'endort,
Les graces sont mal habil!6es,
Et les neuf sceurs devers le Nord
Ne sont jamais fort eveillees. 4
If Hamilton's literary position be examined closely, one is
struck by the fact that he is both, as it were, an attarde of
la bonne regence and a precursor of the Orleans regency.
One can imagine him involved in the quarrel of the Uranistes
and the Jobelins, contributing his share to the Guirlande
de Julie, exchanging elaborate letters with Voiture and
figuring in the Grand Dictionnaire as Le Chevalier Amilcar ;
one can just as well imagine him composing somewhat
shallow Lettres Persanes or even Le Sopha, or, a score of
1 " II serait difficile de trouver chez lui le moindre anglicisme," says
M. Bastide (Anglais et Franfais du 17 si&cle, p. 99). M. Gausseran is,
however, of a different opinion (Preface to his edition of the Mtmoires).
" L'idiome maternel d'Hamilton se reconnait a certaines traces. II emploie
volontiers supprimer pour reprimer : II supprima son impetuosite naturelle;
elle supprima une envie de rire. Squadron signifie la fois escadron et
escadre, aussi prend il 1'un de ces deux mots pour 1'autre : Le roi partit
apres un faucon et toute la brillante escadre apres lui. Mais voici un
example plus frappant, sans souci de notre syntaxe il ecrit : Le roi laissait
tout le monde en repos dans leur commerce. C'est le their anglais se rap-
portant & un nom collectif singulier."
8 Bibl. Nat., ms. fr. 32965, f. 229.
8 We know that he once wrote some English verses in praise of Mile de
Nevers, but his first editor (1731, (Euvres m&lees) did not think it neces-
sary to give them to a French public. He merely notes, " On a omis ici
quelques vers anglois 4 la louange de cette demoiselle."
* (Euvres, III, p. 384.
174 ANTHONY HAMILTON
years later, calling with Walpole upon Madame du Deffand.
He scarcely seems to belong to the reign of Louis le Grand.
Writing in his old age he still follows the authors he admired
in his boyhood ; writing at a time when the piety and
decorum of Versailles cast a shadow on all things, he suggests
the levity and the disbelief of the eighteenth century.
He is far removed from the grave beauty and noble sim-
plicity of the classical age. An elegant trifler, his province
is the ingenious, the artificial and the gracefully complicated
of the early salons ; at the same time, in an age that more
than any other respected the King and the Church, his
works have a distinct flavour of irreligion and flippant
contempt for authority. Though he was only about seven-
teen at the time of the production of L'Ecole des Femmes
he persistently ignored the great school of 1660. There are
various explanations for his clinging to the past one of
them is his friendship for Saint-Evremond, another is
that he left France in the beginning of 1661, at a very
receptive age, his mind full of the prdcieux miscellanies
and the Cyrus and Clelie romances, and though he returned
to France in 1667 or not later than 1671, he from this time
onward led an unsettled life, fighting in summer and spend-
ing the remaining months, a subordinate officer, in outlying
winter-quarters or, more often, raising recruits in Ireland
when, as a rule, other nobles returned to court and polite
society.
Saint-fivremond's influence on Hamilton deserves to be
taken up briefly. It is curious to compare the literary
careers of these two men, the one exiled from France and
writing in England, the other exiled from England and
writing in France, Saint-Evremond acquiring a certain
soberness and gravity from the English, and Hamilton
revealing himself exquisitely French in his levity and wit.
The coincidence had already struck the seventeenth century,
and we find the author, La Chapelle, suggesting to Hamilton,
" La Tamise a fait une restitution a la Seine et lui donne
en vous un autre Saint-fivremond," 1 and the compliment
meant very much more at that time than it does now ; for
the cry of the booksellers was, " Faites nous du Saint-
fivremond," whereas Hamilton had not yet written any
of these works by which he is remembered and better
remembered, in England at least, than Saint-Evremond.
1 Hamilton, CEuvres, III, p. 43.
INTRODUCTORY 175
Saint-Evremond and Gramont had come to England
at much the same time, the former exiled for his imprudent
letter on the peace of the Pyrenees ; the latter, as we know,
in disgrace for presuming to interfere with the amours of
a royal rival. A certain friendship had always united them.
Saint-Evremond was attracted by the insolent grace of
the chevalier, and the chevalier repaid his philosopher by
a genuine, if slightly condescending affection. A kind of
literary oracle, Saint-Evremond rapidly became as well
known in England as he had been in France, and Anthony
Hamilton would probably sooner or later have found his
way to him ; it is, however, significant that Gramont intro-
duced Hamilton and that a common admiration for Gramont
how far sincere on Hamilton's part it is difficult to say
formed a bond between Saint-Evremond and Hamilton.
They seem to have met frequently at the salon of Madame
Mazarin, where Hamilton could find a small centre of French
grace and culture, for France was, after all, his spiritual
home.
Saint-Evremond had left France in 1662, and though
he never lost sight of the literary movement of his country,
keeping himself well supplied with the new books, yet
somehow he is out of touch with it, his literary sympathies
are with the past and he remains to the end of his days
a man of that bonne regence which he always remembers
with a wistful affection, a lover of Montaigne, Malherbe,
Corneille and Voiture. Now his gods are certainly Hamil-
ton's gods ; learning to admire Saint-Evremond Hamilton
is learning to admire the representative of a bygone age.
No doubt Saint-Evremond's ideas on other subjects must
have been agreeable to Hamilton too ; his easy-going and
indifferent Epicureanism was quite after the heart of a
Restoration cavalier. Saint-Evremond would not, perhaps,
have cared to admit that he was an esprit fort, a libertin ;
nevertheless the fact remains that he is one of the links
between Montaigne and Bayle, and that he leads up to the
materialism of the eighteenth century which Hamilton, too,
foreshadowed, and more so, of course, than Saint-Evremond.
If the influence of Saint-Evremond is to be discerned in
Hamilton's ways of thinking it is also discernible, in a lesser
degree, in Hamilton's manner, though it is not the author
of thoughtful musings on the Roman people or the essence
of tragedy that Hamilton, less profound and more brilliant,
176 ANTHONY HAMILTON
less capable of analysing complex sentiments and more
quick to hit off externals, recalls after a fashion, but rather
the Saint-Evremond before the exile, the Saint-Evremond
who had winged his shafts of polite ridicule at Condd and
Mazarin, had mocked at Jesuits and Jansenists with im-
partiality and had written very gallant letters to the ill-
famed Madame d'Olonne. There is no doubt that Hamilton
learned from Saint-Evremond his suave irony and, bringing
to perfection Saint-vremond's skill in dealing lightly with
serious subjects, became one of Voltaire's masters in this
respect.
Hamilton's Relation d'un Voyage en Mauritanie has
reminiscences of the urbane malice and bland simplicity
of Saint -Evremond's Retraite de Monsieur le Due de
Longueville : " le Marquis d'Hectot demanda le commande-
ment de la cavalerie : ce qui lui fut accords', parce qu'il
e'toit mieux monte que les autres ; qu'il e'toit environ
de 1'age de M. de Nemours lorsqu'il la commandoit en
Flandre, et qu'il avoit une cassaque, en broderie, toute
pareille a la sienne." 1 The inimitable Conversation du
Marechal d'Hocquincourt avec le P. Cannaye has something
not only of Pascal, but of Hamilton. A perfidious remark
like the following might well have occurred in the Memoir es
de Grammont: " le Pere, surpris du discours, et plus efrraye*
du transport [du mare'chal] eut recours a 1'oraison mentale
et pria Dieu secretement qu'il le de*livrat du danger ou il se
trouvoit ; mais, ne se fiant par tout a fait a la priere, il
s'eloignoit insensiblement du marechal par un mouvement
de f esses imperceptible." 2 And supposing he had been
asked whether it was prudent for a Catholic to marry a
Protestant lady, would Hamilton not have answered with
Saint-Evremond, " si vous etes d'humeur a ne pouvoir
souffrir 1'imagination d'etre separes en 1'autre monde,
votre femme et vous, je vous conseille d'epouser une catho-
lique : mais si j'avois a me marier, j'epouserois volontiers
une personne d'une autre religion que la mienne. Je
craindrois qu'une catholique, se croyant sure de posseder
son mari en 1'autre vie, ne s'avisat de vouloir jouir d'un
galant en celle-ci." 8
Some of the graver passages in the Memoires de Grammont,
1 Saint-Evremond, (Euvres choisies (ed. Giraud), II, p. 13.
Ib., I, p. 42.
Ib. t p. 26.
INTRODUCTORY 177
for instance the portrait of Mazarin, recall Saint-Evremond's
style, and the antithetical turn, the symmetry of Hamil-
ton's sentence are occasionally to be met with in Saint-
Evremond, e.g. " Tarquin ne savoit ni gouverner selon
les lois, ni r^gner contre," 1 but in Hamilton's case the trick
has been carried further, his style is more artificial and
sparkling.
Finally, there is no doubt that the writing of the Memoires
de Grammont was due, in part, to the influence of Saint-
fivremond, though one would not go so far as to say with
Sainte-Beuve, 2 that the Memoirs are Saint-Evremond's
best work. But it was Saint-Evremond who first set up
Gramont on a kind of pedestal and, making himself his
panegyrist, suggested to Hamilton such feelings of admira-
tion as Hamilton was capable of entertaining and passed
on to him the idea of perpetuating the chevalier's so-called
merits.
Hamilton's literary background in 1700 is a curious
thing. Horace he knows by heart, and the mythological
allusions with which, after the manner of the day, he
ornaments his writings show an acquaintance with the
legends of antiquity which remind one of the praise be-
stowed on his cousin Ossory that he was never at a loss
to explain a tapestry. The medieval romances of Amadis,
Tiran le Blanc, Palmer in d' Olive and Kyrie E ley son de
Montauban, seem to have been the delight of his youth,
and in his old age he is amused by their naivete. Don
Quixote is more than familiar to him. He has read
Cassandre and Pharamond, Le Grand Cyrus and Polex-
andre, and though he is quite aware of their defects,
he prefers them infinitely to the fairy-tales that come into
vogue after the day of the grands romans is past, and to
the Arabian Nights. After the fashion of the day he
dislikes Ronsard and considers him an ' Ostrogoth ' and
worse, and though he imitates Marot, another fashion of the
day, he likes him little better. Malherbe, Racan, Sarasin and
Benserade are more after his own heart. Certain aspects
of Moliere and La Fontaine possibly appealed to him, but
Racine, Boileau, Pascal, Bossuet are practically non-
existent as far as he is concerned. He only knows the school
* ib., ii, P . 43 .
1 Nouveaux Lundis, XIII, p. 431.
N
178 ANTHONY HAMILTON
that turned Roman history into madrigals, Tacitus into
octaves and Ovid into rondeaux, and no one can approach
Voiture in his esteem.
Hamilton is never tired of praising Voiture, he imitates
him, he feels with pleasure that he is like him. " Ne trouvez-
vous pas/' he asks Madame de Caylus, " que ce commence-
ment de lettre semble estre tiree d'une de celles de Voiture
a Mademoiselle de Rambouillet ? " l Boileau is struck by
their resemblance. Voiture confesses to a lady, " J'ay
bien de la honte a vous le dire. Mais ce malheureux qui
devoit estre mort il y a longtemps est encore au monde," 2
and Hamilton writes to Henrietta Bulkeley, " J'ai honte
d'etre encore en vie aprs avoir me*rite votre indignation
et apres les assurances que je vous avois donne'es de ne vivre
plus que quelques jours." 8 Voiture elaborates a letter in
extraordinarily bad taste to the Due d'Enghien, " Eh
bonjour, mon compere le brochet," etc. 4 And Hamilton
almost verges on something similar in certain passages of
a letter to Berwick :
Brochet qui des hautes montagnes
Salt grimper tout au fin sommet . . .
Ce brochet qui dans les Espagnes
A si bien pouss son bidet
Pendant trois ou quatre campagnes
Me semble un maltre brochet.*
If Hamilton had written nothing but his letters and his
minor works epistles, rondeaux, chansons, etc. he would
have been merely a second or third-rate Voiture, worthy to
be ranked with the Benserade of the Plainte du Cheval
Pegaze aux Chevaux de la petite Ecurie qui le veulent
deloger de son Galetas des Thuileries, or, to compare him
with an author of his own period, with the Perrault who
wrote the Banquet des Dieux pour la Naissance de Mon-
seigneur le Due de Bourgogne.
Describing a dull forenoon Hamilton will say after the
approved manner of the pre*cieux, " 1'Aurore semblait
s'etre mise en coiffe et en e*charpe ds le matin, tant Tair
Du Boscq de Beaumont et M. Bernos, La Cour des Stuarts, p. 373.
Voiture, (Euvres (Paris, 1858), p. 406.
Hamilton, (Euvres, III, p. 148.
Voiture, p. 313.
Hamilton, III, p. 104.
INTRODUCTORY 179
etait encore sombre/' 1 or, in order to explain that a certain
place was reached at sunset he must needs paraphrase,
" on gagna le rivage . . . sur le point que le dieu du jour
allait passer la nuit dans 1'humide palais de Thetis." 2 Not
a few of his letters are marred by such doubtful elabora-
tions. When he writes, it is at the bidding of Apollo,
" inventor of poetry, director of music, president of the
science of medicine and composer of oracles/' and we hear
how Apollo, not wishing to scorch Hamilton, laid aside
his fiery darts and distributed them to the ladies of Saint-
Germain for the time being, or we get a description of the
visit of Hamilton's muse in her ' habit d'opera/ and we are
told what compliments she ordered the poet to transcribe
for the recipient of the letter (who, in turn, writes back,
describing the visit of a muse, unpropitious till the name
of Hamilton is pronounced) ; we are told of the admiration
with which a nymph of the Garonne beheld the Duchess
of Berwick ; we hear of Iris, Aminte and Sylvie, when
we should give anything for those little personal details
that abound in some of the seventeenth-century corre-
spondences.
An admiration for Voiture is no uncommon thing at the
end of the seventeenth century, and Hamilton is no striking
exception if the classical age is a kind of blank to him.
Untouched by the great authors he does not stand alone ;
a certain section of society persistently held aloof from the
movement and a large number of the nobles never acknow-
ledged the sway of Moliere. In this connexion it may be
useful to recall briefly the curious resemblance between the
first part and the last part of the grand siecle, a resemblance
that deserves further study and to which this sketch of
Hamilton may be a slight contribution. 3
The seventeenth century, or at least the main part of it,
has been described as a kind of breathing space between
two periods of criticism and negation, between the age of
Montaigne and Charron and that of Voltaire and Diderot,
a period of authority and affirmation contrasting with the
1 Ib., p. 21. * Ib., p. 32.
3 Cf. Brunetidre, Histoire de la Literature Francaise Classique, II,
Introductory chapter ; Etudes critiques, Vol. I (le Naturalisme au 1 7 e
sidcle not printed in the first ed.) ; Vol II (Les Precieuses) ; Vol. Ill (Le
Sage, Marivaux, etc.) ; Sainte-Beuve, Portraits de Femme (une ruelle
poetique) ; Causeries du Lundi, I (Chaulieu) ; Vinet, Histoire de la littera-
ture francaise au 18' siecle, Introduction.
180 ANTHONY HAMILTON
Que sais-je of the sixteenth century and the universal
doubt of the eighteenth, and the periods of transition at
the beginning and at the end of the century, the one leading
from, the other leading to, an age of relative freedom and
licence, are not at all unlike. The same groups exist, the
same tendencies are manifested. The scepticism of Mon-
taigne and Charron is represented by Fontenelle and Bayle ;
the ' libertins ' The*ophile and Saint- Amant find their
counterparts in Chaulieu, La Fare and other habitues of the
Temple. Balzac and Voiture live again, for the pre*cieux,
in particular, begin to recover from the blow Moliere has
dealt them, for Moliere is dead and Racine has ceased to
write, La Bruyere and Bossuet, La Fontaine and Boileau
are nearing their end. And if proof were needed that the
pre*cieux have survived, 1 has not Le Sage made a discreet
attack on a prcieux salon in Gil Bias, 2 and is there not a
sly hit at the prcieux manner of speaking in the descrip-
tion of the langage proconchi in Le Bachelier de Sala-
manque " un style obscur, enfle*, un verbiage brillant,
un pompeux galimatias, mais c'est ce qui en fait
1'excellence " ? 8
The personal action of Louis XIV no longer making itself
felt, the coteries that had almost disappeared during his
reign begin to flourish again. Pradon, Quinault and to a
certain extent Perrault and Fontenelle continue the tradi-
tions of Voiture and Mademoiselle de Scude*ry. The pros-
perous Pavilion is considered to be Voiture's successor, and
the public can admire verses of the kind addressed to
Mademoiselle du Chatelier, " en luy envoyant pour e*trennes
une boite dans laquelle il y a une petite tortue brillante
et mouvante." Montesquieu is not infrequently some-
thing of a bel esprit. Even the dignitaries of the Church are
not free from reproach ; Ftechier is the well-known example,
Massillon himself lacks simplicity, and as for Fe*nelon, one
quotation from his spiritual correspondence with Madame
de Gramont will suffice to illustrate his occasional lapses.
" II faut vous rabaisser sans cesse," he writes, " vous ne
vous releverez toujours que trop. II faut vous apetisser,
1 Since the above was written Mr. Tilley's articles on Preciosite after
Les Precieuses Ridicules have appeared in the Modern Language Review of
Jan., April and July, 1916.
Book 4, ch. 8.
* Bachelier de Salamanque (1812, 2 vols.), II, p. 112.
INTRODUCTORY 181
vous faire enfant, vous emmailloter et vous donner de la
bouillie : vous serez encore une mediant e enfant."
Two salons recall the Hotel de Rambouillet, the salon of
Madame de Lambert, which has the dignity and the decorum
of the chambre bleue, and the salon if salon it can be called
of Madame du Maine, which resembles the Hotel de
Rambouillet in its less happy days. Fontenelle and La
Motte belong to Madame de Lambert's circle, though La
Motte has also a platonic friendship for Madame du Maine,
which inspires some letters in the style of Voiture almost
at his worst. Among the habitues of Sceaux is Hamilton,
as we have seen. The Litterature de Societe, which Voiture 1
and his contemporaries Godeau and Menage had really
created, flourishes at the court of Madame du Maine. The
ingenious poetical correspondences, the stances, bouts-
rimes, acrostiches, rondeaux, parodies of Marot, ' centuries '
or predictions a la Nostradamus, are the favoured
occupation of the Duchess and her friends, just as they I
had amused the Hotel de Rambouillet, especially towards)
its decline.
The resemblance between the first and last part of the
seventeenth century may strike one at first as a curious
coincidence, but it is not to be interpreted as such. The
fact is that there was never really a break between these
two periods, but that, towards the middle of the century,
the constellation of great men completely eclipsed the
doings of the rhyming poets and society writers who, in
the meantime, found a refuge in certain salons, with the
Bouillons, the Nevers, the Hotel d'Albret and the Hotel
de Richelieu, where the Abbe Tetu reigned supreme " il
s'en croyoit le Voiture/' Madame de Caylus tells us and
particularly perhaps at Madame Deshoulieres', who, a
kind of poet herself, gave hospitality to Renault and
Saint Pavin, and counted Flechier amongst her best friends.
And if the age of Louis XIV was an age of faith and religion,
the sceptical tendencies of the preceding reign are still
there, they wisely do not appear on the surface, Saint-
fivremond, Lassay, Ninon, Mazarin's nieces and their
friends are unostentatiously and tranquilly indifferent to
the fervour of the Jansenists and the suave piety of the
Jesuits, but the irreligiousness becomes more and more
pronounced towards the end of the period.
182 ANTHONY HAMILTON
Long ago Sainte-Beuve summed up all this in a famous
passage : " II y a deux siecles de Louis XIV, Tun noble,
majestueux, magnifique, sage et regie jusqu'a la rigueur,
decent jusqu'ci la solennite, represent e par le Roi en personne,
par ses orateurs et ses poetes en titre, par Bossuet, Racine,
Despreaux ; il y a un autre sicle qui coule dessous, pour
ainsi dire, comme un fleuve coulerait sous un large pont,
et qui va de Tune a 1'autre Regence, de celle de la reine-
mere a celle de Philippe d'Orleans." 1
Hamilton certainly partakes of this liberty of manners
and morals which makes itself more felt again at the close
of the reign. It is true that he is in a sense one of the new
generation of precieux, but a characteristic of the new
precieux, as compared with the friends of Madame de
Rambouillet, is ' de meler dans son bel esprit un grain
d'esprit fort ' the remark is again Sainte-Beuve's 2 and
the spirit of the Memoires de Grammont is in no wise akin
to the refined prudery of those who have been called les
Janse*nistes de 1' Amour. Moreover, as has been pointed
out, Hamilton is a friend of the Vendomes, men whose
ways foreshadowed and in a measure coincided with
those of the Regency. He is numbered among those
who with Chaulieu and La Fare used to gather at the
Temple.
As a matter of fact Hamilton professes to dislike the
precieux of his day, and he has too much good sense to be
led too far astray in the paths of the new pr^ciosite". Of
Madame du Maine and her ' mouches/ the members of that
curious order which she had instituted, he speaks contemp-
tuously as " ces pre*cieuses et ces espdces inconcevables "
(III, p. 155) ; he has no great affection for the ' modern
Sapphos ' (III, p. 200) ; he despises ' les dames du bel
air et les beaux esprits de Paris ' (III, p. 162), though here,
of course, the aristocrat's contempt for the bourgeois mani-
fests itself as well. In the Memoires de Grammont he makes
a designedly ridiculous Marquis send some gloves to a lady,
accompanied by a note, " ces gants baiseront les plus belles
mains du monde." The Marquis and his lady have got as
far as the ' muets Interpretes/ which is doubtless a reminis-
cence of the language of Belise, ' tant que vous vous tiendrez
1 Causeries du Lundi, I, p. 362.
* Portraits de Femmes, p. 389.
INTRODUCTORY 183
aux muets Interpretes/ 1 no less than the expression, ' les
tendres truchements ' 2 which he uses in speaking of the
Duke of York's ogling Miss Hamilton.
The habitues of the Temple were known by a certain
freedom of manner, thought and speech ; they were not very
much concerned with the life to come, they believed in
taking their good where they found it, since pleasure was
but of the moment, and their creed or absence of creed
satisfied Hamilton, though not quite till the end. He is
one of those polite Epicureans who are still slightly out of
their place in the end of the seventeenth century. He has
the scepticism of the eighteenth century, though the time
has not yet, of course, come to manifest it very openly.
But still it is there, it reveals itself in a gesture, a shrug of
the shoulder, a passing insinuation, a vague hint. The
Queen of England, he will tell you, does everything she can
to obtain an heir from heaven, but " les vceux, les neuvaines
et les offrandes ayant ete tournes de toutes les manieres,
et n'ayant rien fait, il fallut en revenir aux moyens
humains," 3 which, he implies, was after all the only sensible
thing to do from the very beginning. Such a remark does
not attract much attention, it is not very destructive, but
the Memoirs and the Tales are full of such significant touches
that belittle the faith of the grand siecle.
Bersot has an interesting remark on the morality of some
of the eighteenth-century fiction. Let us imagine a line
of demarcation, he says, drawn between what is good and
what is evil. The immoral thing is, not to show us some
one who crosses this line, but to insinuate that in everyday
life we habitually disregard it and in walking over gradually
efface it. 4 This is the accusation that can be brought against
Hamilton, at least to a certain extent. There is something
cold-blooded and perfidious about the Chevalier de Gramont
and his friends that shows us how far we have travelled
from the loyalty and good faith of the lovers in the grands
romans. One has but to remember the ' counsel ' Madame
de Senantes gives to her would-be gallant Matt a. Even
though Hamilton's intentions are satirical, the sentiments
expressed are those which the young roues will presently
carry into practice.
1 Femmes savantes, line 284.
* Ib., line 278. 8 (Euvres, I, p. 366.
E. Bersot, Etudes sur le dix-huitieme siecle (Paris, 1855), Vol. I, p. 367.
184 ANTHONY HAMILTON
En Equipage, en airs bruyants,
En lieux communs, en faux segments,
En habits, bijoux, dents d'ivoire
Mettez vous bien.
Ayez pour plaire aux vieux parents,
Toujours en main nouvelle histoire,
Pour les valets force presents ;
Mais eut-il 1'humeur sombre et noire
Avec l'6poux, malgr6 ses dents,
Mettez vous bien. 1
Hamilton's critical disposition inclines him, as we know,
to that ironical manner which is one of the pronounced
features of his works. " Je serai ravi que vous parliez pour
louer, approuver, complaire, de*fe*rer, e*difier, mais je suis
sur que quand vous ne parlerez de cette sorte, vous parlerez
fort peu, et que la conversation vous semblera fade." 2 That
is what Fe*nelon writes to Anthony Hamilton's sister, and
that is what, without any doubt, he might have written to
Anthony Hamilton. But his irony, imperceptible often,
more noticeable at other times, this strain of light mockery
is in keeping with the spirit of this age of transition, restless,
unsettled, impatient of the restraint of the past, distrustful
of dogma and tradition, and this irony, from Bayle onwards,
will take the place of the warmth of faith and the vehemence
of conviction.
With Hamilton it does not yet, as a rule, go very deep ;
it takes the form of a very graceful persiflage that holds up
everything to derision, the dramatis personae, the readers
and even the author ; it does not yet attack any serious
problems as Montesquieu will do a few years later in the
Lettres Persanes. It is tempered by the author's urbanity
unless he happens to give way too much to his natural
malice. In that case one can only say to him with Bulwer
Lytton's Chaulieu, 3 " Ah mon aimable ami, you are the
wickedest witty person I know ; I cannot help loving
your language while I hate your sentiments."
A few words remain to be said about Hamilton as an
eighteenth-century writer, or at least as a writer of the
transition, from the point of view of style. It is true that
1 (Euvres, I, p. 59.
* Correspondance, VI, p. 228.
' In Devereux.
INTRODUCTORY 185
his style is not altogether free from a certain preciosity.
Describing Miss Jennings he says : " Ses yeux faisoient un
peu grace tandis que sa bouche et le reste de ses Appas
portoient mille coups jusques au fond du coeur " (I, p. 268).
Gramont is telling Miss Hamilton that he has been sum-
moned to France, " II eut beau protester qu'il aimoit
mieux mourir que de s'eloigner de ses Appas, ses Appas
protesterent qu'ils ne le reverroient de leur vie s'il ne
partoit incessamment " (I, p. 345). Little Jermyn is " un
trophe*e mouvant des Faveurs et des Libertez du beau
Sexe" (I, p. 306). Miss Blagge notices the attentions of
the Marquis de Brisacier, " prenant toujours la chose
pour elle, ses Paupieres s'en humiliaient par reconnaissance
et pudeur " (I, p. 142) ; the Marquis imagines that he is
the first to win her favour, " le seigneur Brisacier crut que
ces longues paupieres de la Blague n'avaient jamais couche
que lui en joue " (I, p. 139). Hamilton's desire to be witty
and original leads him to perpetuate such far-fetched con-
ceits as the following : " Un visage assortissant mettait
la derniere main au desagrement de sa figure " (I, p. 139).
" Ses gestes et ses mouvements etoient autant d' Im-
promptus " (I, p. 268). The President de Tambonneau
returns " aux pieds de ses premieres habitudes," in other
words to Madame de Luynes (I, p. 244), and as for M. de
Wetenhall, " au lieu de prendre les Ordres il prit le chemin
d'Angleterre et Mademoiselle Bedingfield pour femme "
(I, p. 320).
On the other hand, Hamilton does not hesitate to use
quite familiar and forcible expressions such as the precieux
would have condemned for their lack of elegance, e.g. :
radouber (I, p. 332), empuantir (I, pp. 162, 173), se decrasser
(I, pp. 231, 286), brailler (II, p. 295), goguenarder (I, p. 176),
magot (I, p. 360), malotru (II, p. 23), chiche (I, p. 130),
caquet (II, 382), flux de bouche (II, p. 381), empiffrerie
(I, p. 309), bombances nocturnes (I, p. 253), faire ripaille
(II, p. 120), perdre le boire et le manger (I, p. 279), epouseur
(I, p. 277), lorgneries (I, p. 131), les brimborions d'amour
(I, p. 264), se coiffer d'un visage (I, p. 342), se fourrer une
creature dans la tete (I, p. 254), rengainer ses desseins (I,
p. 202), crever de depit (I, p. 306 ; II, p. 103), se crever de
pommes vertes (II, p. 389), monter sur ses grands chevaux
(I, p. 386), jurer ses grands dieux (I, p. 285), gronder quel-
qu'un de la belle maniere (I, p. 44), laver la tete a quelqu'un
i86 ANTHONY HAMILTON
(I PP- 53> 2 9) chanter pouille (I, pp. 295, 308), e"plucher
les particularity d'une aventure (I, p. 222), etre colle* sur
ses livres (I, p. 320), secher d'impatience (I, p. 140), e*crire
pis que pendre (I, p. 210), tremper dans un complot (I,
p. 146), escamoter la nouvelle (I, p. 93), rire a gorge deploie'e
(I, p. 146), rebattre les oreilles (I, p. 145), se faire tirer les
oreilles (I, p. 192), s'embarquer dans un fiacre (I, p. 312),
sentir le rissole* (II, p. 502), sourd comme un pot
(II, p. 271), etc. M. de Senantes, we are told, " se piquoit
d'etre Stoicien et faisoit gloire d'etre salope et de*goutant
en honneur de sa profession. II y r^ussissait parfaite-
ment ; car il toit fort gros, et suoit en hiver comme en
M " (I, p. 51).
None of the above examples are taken from the conversa-
tions of Hamilton's personages, since the object of these
examples is to give an idea of Hamilton's own vocabulary.
When Hamilton makes certain personages speak, Gramont,
Matta, the valet Termes and Brinon, the Giant in Le
Belier, the Caliph and the witch in Fleur d'Epine,
Cristalline and the high priest in the Quatre Facardins,
their language is, of course, very much more picturesque
and vigorous than that which Hamilton habitually uses.
This applies even to Lady Castlemaine, who calls Miss
Stuart, Miss Wells and Nell Gwyn (" cette petite gueuse
de comedienne ") ' oisons bride's/ and threatens the King
" de mettre ses enfants en capilotade et son palais en feu "
(I. P. 304).
Like some of his contemporaries, Ftechier in particular,
Hamilton has a great affection for antithesis. Often he
employs it very effectively, at other times there is some-
thing forced and mannered about his use of it ; had Matthieu
Marais read the Memoires de Grammont he would probably
have classed Hamilton among the ' modern Lucans and
Senecas,' whom he dislikes so much. The following are
some typical instances : De grands hommes commandaient
de petites armees et les arme'es faisoient de grandes choses
(I, p. 21), Comme il etait un peu sorti de son devoir pour
entrer dans les interets de M. le Prince, il crut pouvoir en
sortir pour rentrer dans son devoir (I, p. 81). Ses maximes
favorites etaient . . . qu'on dit beaucoup de mal de lui,
pourvu qu'il amassat beaucoup de bien (I, p. 81). II avoit
6t6 fort hai du roi, parce qu'il avoit e*te fort aime de la
Castelmaine (I, p. 184). II se moquoit tout haut de la folie
INTRODUCTORY 187
du Chevalier de Gramont et tout has de la credulite* des
Piedmont ois (I, p. 78). Les medecins ay ant considere que
les eaux froides de Tunbridge n'avaient pas reussi 1'annee
precedente, conclurent qu'il falloit 1'envoyer aux chaudes
(I, p. 366). In cases like the last sentence quoted, one
cannot help noticing how admirably this style adapts itself
to Hamilton's scepticism ; there is nothing infallible,
nothing absolute in existence, against every statement
the contradictory may be advanced with equal reason ;
the empirical method of the doctors is merely a typical
instance of the larger empiricism which underlies our
conduct.
The effect of his antithesis is sometimes very comic in
its simplicity, thus, for instance, " Monsieur le Prince
assiegait Lerida, la place n'etait rien, mais Dom Gregorio
Brice (the governor) etoit quelque chose " (I, p. 175). Or
elsewhere, a description of the Earl of Oxford, " a le voir
on diroit que c'est quelque chose mais a 1'entendre on voit
bien que ce n'est rien " (I, p. 279). Often the antithesis
is emphasized by the repetition of the important word, e.g. :
Personne ne se mit en tete de troubler un commerce qui
n'interessoit personne, mais Killegrew s'avisa de le troubler
lui-meme. . . . L'imprudent Killegrew qui n'avoit pu se
passer de rivaux fut obliger de se passer de maitresse (I,
pp. 362-363). Elle rougissoit de tout sans rien faire dont
elle eut a rougir (I, p. 266). And, less happily: le papier
souffre tout, mais par malheur elle ne souffroit pas le papier
(I, p. 271). Tandis que le frere jouoit de la guitare, la sceur
jouoit de la prunelle (I, p. 205).
The repetition of certain words is very characteristic of
Hamilton's style. The Duke of York, he says, " se prit
done a ce qui se trouva d'abord sous ses mains. Ce fut
Madame de Carneguy qui s'etait trouvee sous la main de
bien d'autres" (I, pp. 195-196). As for Lady Muskerry,
" son imagination ne cessait de danser a Summerhill toutes
les contredanses qu'elle s'imaginoit qu'on avoit dansees a
Tunbridge" (I, p. 329). Little Jermyn undertakes to ride
twenty miles in an hour, " en gagnant la gageure il gagna
la fievre " (I, p. 338). " Le jeu rendoit a merveille dans les
commencemens et le Chevalier rendoit en cent fa9ons ce
qu'il ne prenoit d'une seule " (I, p. 23). A favourite pro-
ceeding is to reinforce the expression in the second part of
the sentence, e.g. : Us s'aimoient beaucoup, mais ils aimoient
i88 ANTHONY HAMILTON
encore plus le vin (I, p. 252). On s'dtonna qu'il arriva des
derniers dans cette occasion, on s'e*tonna bien plus de le
voir enfin paraitre en habit de ville (I, p. 148). Milord
Taffe s'dtoit imaging qu'il e*toit amoureux d'elle et la
Warmestre* non seulement s'imagina qu'il e*toit vrai,
mais elle compta qu'il ne manqueroit pas de 1'^pouser
(I. P- 252).
These mannerisms naturally affect the build of the
sentence. Hamilton's sentences are short, well balanced
and symmetrical. With him we have entered on the prose
of the eighteenth century. 1 All the examples above quoted,
happy and otherwise, are taken from the Memoirs, where
there is only too large a choice of typical expressions. There
is a curious contrast between the Memoirs and the Tales
as far as style goes ; the latter are written in a much simpler
language ; 2 though exquisitely witty they are less sparkling
than the Memoirs, but also more free from anything arti-
ficial, from too obvious striving after effect. One wonders
whether Hallam was not thinking of the Tales rather than of
the Memoirs when he wrote : ' The language of S^vigne*
and Hamilton is eminently colloquial ; scarce a turn
occurs in their writings which they would not have used
in familiar society, but theirs was the colloquy of gods, ours
of men." Even more than the Memoirs the Tales must
be considered an excellent example of the prose in the
beginning of the eighteenth century, clear, delicate, graceful,
even, divested of everything clumsy and cumbersome. 3 We
1 " II (Hamilton) a mani6 le premier en perfection le style du 18* sigcle,
style ' desinvolte,' alerte, aiguise, eclaire d'esprit et parfaitement sec en
sa finesse brillante." (Lanson, Histoire de la Literature franpaise (9th
edition), p. 614 n.)
* The Tales being intended as parodies, a certain naivet6 is made to
manifest itself in places, e.g. : II y a dans le monde une foret et dans cette
fort il y a un arbre difficile a trouver, et dans cet arbre il y a une gafne
d'or (II, p. 245). Dans ce pays regnoit un calife ; ce calife avoit une fille.
et cette fille un visage, mais on souhaita plus d'une fois qu'elle n'en cut
jamais eu (II, p. 4). The exaggerated use of superlatives is, of course, also
intentional : Tandis que la divine princesse rafraichissoit le plus beau corps
du monde dans 1'eau la plus claire et la plus delicieuse qui fut jamais, Tune
disoit qu'il falloit que le dieu de ce fleuve fut le plus sot poisson du monde
de voir la beaute la plus parfaite de 1'univers dans son lit, sans donner le
moindre signe de vie (II, pp. 381-382).
* M. Lanson in his Art de la Prose quotes Fleur d'Epine at some length.
" II a fallu prolonger la citation," he says, " pour donner le temps au
lecteur d'fitre impregn6 du charme de cette fine prose. Elle n'a pas un
eflfet qui n'appartienne 4 la conversation de tous les jours. La condition
de son elegance artistique est presque inanalysable, c'est une justesse aisee
INTRODUCTORY 189
have left La Fontaine and La Bruyere slightly behind us ;
we are not far off from Voltaire. Hamilton stands about
midway between these writers.
qui la separe du parler usuel comme une modification de la courbure des
lignes presque imperceptible classe une commode et un fauteuil dans le
mobilier d'art (p. 47).
CHAPTER II
THE MfiMOIRES DE GRAMMONT
THERE are two ways of looking at the Memoires
de Grammont. To an Englishman Hamilton's
book at once suggests the court of Charles II,
and he therefore associates the Memoirs with
the Diaries of Pepys and Evelyn. The Cambridge History
of English Literature, for instance, gives the Memoires de
Grammont a very respectable place among the Memoirs
of the Age of Dryden. 1 The Frenchman, on the other hand,
sees in Hamilton a ' conteur aimable/ he is one of the
family of Madame d'Aulnoy and Courtilz de Sandras ; the
Memoires de Grammont belong to the class of works known
as the roman pretendu historique, or else, and we prefer
this, to certain ouvrages divers ayant influence* Involution
du roman. No history of the novel in France will ever
pass the Memoires de Grammont in silence.
Both views, though very natural, are somewhat extreme.
To discuss the Memoires de Grammont along with the works
of Pepys, Evelyn and Sir John Reresby is to isolate the
French work from its natural surroundings ; to rank it
with the Memoires de la Cour d'Angleterre and the Memoires
de M. d'Artagnan is to disparage the documentary value
of Hamilton's work. The object of the following pages is
to give an account of the literary movement in France to
which the Memoires de Grammont belong, and at the same
time to show that, except for the chronological sequence
which is often incorrect, the Memoirs are not so unreliable
a source of information as some would have us believe.
It is a well-known fact that during the second half of the
seventeenth century the novel in France seems to suffer
a kind of eclipse ; the ' grands genres ' have thrown it into
1 Vol. 8. Chapter X.
190
I , K CO MT K A BT
A M 11 LT -I > i>
THE M&MOIRES DE GRAMMONT igl
the shade ; the roman heroique shares the disgrace of the
Precieuses ; l the roman comique, being of a lowly origin,
hardly counts. But though the novel is thus for a time
obscured, it does not disappear ; on the contrary, it is
gathering new forces, it is finding out new ways, it is adapt-
ing itself to new circumstances ; left to itself, it is developing
more freely ; from having been too ideal with the Precieux
and too distorted with the Burlesques it is gradually
approaching a mean, Gil Bias is not far off. The narratives
are considerably reduced in length, even Mademoiselle de
Scudery writes a novel of only five hundred odd pages ;
the new novels are less overloaded with improbable and
impossible incidents, since Boileau has banished the ' mer-
veille absurde ' which, in turn, will find its place in the
Tale ; they aim at being more true to life, for has not
Boileau proclaimed, " jamais de la nature il ne faut s'ecar-
ter " ? Historical subjects are chosen, the authors read
memoirs and letters of the period they are describing, they
append lists of their authorities, 1 they are anxious not to
be reproached with any ' Caton galant ' or with a ' Brutus
dameret ' ; 2 "on s'eloigne autant que Ton peut de 1'air
romanesque dans les nouveaux romans," Bayle remarks. 3
From 1665 onwards there is a constant flow of historical
novels, anecdotes, memoirs, annals, a movement that con-
tinues far down the eighteenth century, when, curiously
enough, most of the authentic seventeenth-century memoirs
are printed for the first time, 4 in order to satisfy the craving
1 See, for instance, Baudot de Juilly's Relation historique et galante de
r Invasion de I'Espagne par les Maures (La Haye, 1699) or the preface to
Mile de La Force's Histoire secrette de Catherine de Bourbon (Nancy, 1703).
It must, however, be admitted that Mile de La Force mentions such works
as Les Amours du Grand Alcandre and the Galanteries des Rois de France.
1 The change for the better, of course, takes place very gradually. Some
of Madame de Villedieu's works still savour strongly of the Illustre Bassa
and Polyxene. In the Exilez de la Cour d'Auguste (1675), Virgil gallantly
tells a story to four ' ladies,' and the personages habitually converse about
'le grand Jules.' In the Journal Amoureux (Part II, 1671) the Due
d'Aumale, the Cardinal d'Armagnac and Gaspard de Coligny, all three the
gravest of men, are made to appear as eminently ridiculous lovers.
8 Dictionnaire, in the article on Nidhard.
* e.g. in 1709 Memoires de la Duchesse de Nemours.
1717 Memoires de Retz.
1717 M6moires de Brienne.
1720 Memoires de Pontchartrain (grandfather of the Chan-
cellor Pontchartrain).
1720 Memoires de Madame Henriette d* Angleterre (Madame
de La Fayette).
192 ANTHONY HAMILTON
of the public. La Princesse de Cleves is one of the earliest and
really the only important novel of the transition period ;
the numerous authors, women chiefly, who follow in the
train of Madame de La Fayette seldom come near her.
Among these feminine predecessors and contemporaries of
Hamilton may be mentioned Madame de Villedieu and
Madame d'Aulnoy, the least mediocre ; Mademoiselle de la
Rocheguilhem, Catherine Bernard, Madame DurandBedacier,
Mademoiselle L'Heritier, Hamilton's friend, Mademoiselle
de La Force, and Madame Petit-Dunoyer. Madame de
Fontaines, Madame de Gomez and Mademoiselle de Lussan
wrote after him. The men are less numerous and, with
one exception, even less well known ; Vanel, Mailly, Baudot
de Juilly, Gregoire de Challes before, Serviez and Ne'e de la
Rochelle after Hamilton are mere names to us now, but
the adventurer Gatien Courtilz de Sandras, that curious,
amazingly prolific, picturesque writer, so convincing when
he assures us that his chief preoccupation has always been
the strictest veracity, author of Memoirs of Turenne, of
Coligny, of the Comte de Rochefort, of Colbert, of the
Due de Rohan, of J. B. de La Fontaine, of M. d'Artagnan,
of the Marquise de Fresne, of the Marquis de Montbrun, of
M. de Bouy, of the Mardchal de la Feuillade, of the Comtesse
de Strasbourg, him we remember as a not altogether un-
worthy ancestor of Alexandre Dumas pere.
The ' new novels/ to use Bayle's expression, may be
divided into different groups as far as the subject matter
is concerned. A certain number still go back to ancient
Greece and Rome, but they are in the minority. It is the
history of France that receives most attention from the
writers, and, commencing with the age of Pharamond,
there is hardly a reign that does not find its chronicler.
Finally, the histories of other nations are found to be
fruitful sources of incident and picturesque character, and
1723 Mtmoires de Madame de Motteville.
1724 Memoires de Gourville.
1727 Mtmoires de Montglat.
1 729 Memoires de Lenet.
1729 Memoires de Mademoiselle de Montpensier.
1730 Histoire de la Mete et du Fils (a fragment of Richelieu's
Memoirs).
1731 Memoires de Madame de La Fayette.
1732 Me" moires de Talon.
1 7 34 Memoires d' A rnauld d'A ndilly.
1735 Memoires de Turenne (in Ramsay's Histoire de Turenne)
1735 Memoires du Due d' York (ibid.). Etc.
THE MfiMOIRES DE GRAMMONT 193
besides a large number of novels that are qualified as
Spanish, we have others that can be variously labelled as
Portuguese, Italian, Savoyard, Sicilian, English, Swedish,
Moscovite, Moorish, Tartar and Chinese ; x the more exotic
the country the more curious the events described, until at
length, the Oriental tales that flourish in the first half of
the eighteenth century take us from the novel to the
fantastic tale.
Now those works that deal with the events of bygone
ages or of fairly inaccessible countries could hardly pretend
to be more than historical novels ; 2 it is otherwise when
we come to works that treat of contemporary events and
well-known persons. Narratives of this class, unless bearing
the subtitle ' nouvelle historique/ as a rule claim to be
absolutely authentic and trustworthy. 3 They may be
autobiographical confessions written to defend a reputation
unjustly attacked 4 or to help others to avoid the misfortunes
that have befallen the author, 5 and this form will enjoy
a considerable vogue throughout the eighteenth century.
Or again, they are biographical, dates are set down the
margins, 6 the authors write moved alone by the desire of
1 Lenglet Dufresnoy gives a long and classified list of them in Vol. II
of his Usage des Romans, and even more are noticed in the Bibliotheque
des Romans.
2 But not all are as frank as the editor of the Prince de Condi (by
Boursault, Paris, 1675). " O n P eut regarder comme autant de veritez," he
explains, " les endroits qui ne concernent que la guerre, mais on ne garantit
pas ceux oil 1'amour a quelque part. Et a proprement parler, ce n'est icy
qu'un petit Roman a quoy Ton prete des Noms Illustres pour le faire
recevoir plus favorablement parce que Ton est plus sensible aux avantures
d'un Prince que Ton connoist qu'a celles d'un heros que Ton ne connait
pas." (Le libraire au lecteur.)
8 See, for instance, the various prefaces of Courtilz de Sandras or the
Memoires des avantures singulieres de la Cour de France (La Haye, 1692,
2 e edition), where Madame d' Aulnoy warns the reader : " Ne vous attendez
point que j'ajoute rien a la verite, ni pour embellir ni pour diminuer les
incidents ; je crains meTne d'etre trop sincere dans la suitte de mon
discours et qu'il ne s'y trouve quelques endroits qui ne vous paroissent pas
d'une conduite assez regulidre : mais, Madame, pardonnez le moi, car en
prenant la plume, j'ai resolu
De nommer tout par son nom,
Un chat un chat et rolet un fripon. (pp. 166-167.)
4 e.g. the Memoirs of Mmes de Villedieu, Mazarin, Murat, etc.
8 e.g. the Memoires de la Vie du Comte D*** Avant sa retraite, redigez
par M. de Saint-Evremond, Paris, 1696 (attributed to the Abbe de Villiers).
6 e.g. in Courtilz de Sandras's Vie de J. B. Colbert (1695) and Memoires
de M. de Bouy (1711), in Boursault's Prince de Conde (1675), Madame
d'Aulnoy's Comte de Warwick (1703), etc,
I 9 4 ANTHONY HAMILTON
instructing posterity ;* sometimes it ' happens ' that
memoirs of well-known people have fallen into their hands
and they publish them just as they have received them,
without adding or suppressing anything. 2
These memoirs and pseudo-memoirs contain, of course,
a very varying amount of truth. They range from pro-
ductions such as the Memoir es de la Vie du Comte D. * * *
Avant sa retraite, or some of the works of Courtilz de Sandras,
whom Bayle indignantly describes as a ' compilateur de
toutes les rapsodies satiriques qu'on peut apprendre dans
les auberges et dans les arme'es,' 8 to certain memoirs that
can practically be included among the authentic memoirs
written in all good faith. Among the memoirs that
belong far more to the domain of history than that of
fiction may be included Madame de La Fayette's Histoire
de Madame Henriette d'Angleterre, in a lesser degree the
Memoires de Grammont, and after these the Memoires de
M. L. D. M. (Madame la Duchesse Mazarin), 4 probably
composed by herself and Saint-Re*al, and the memoirs
of her sister edited by Bremond, Les Veritable* Memoires de
Madame Marie Mancini, conne'table de Colonna, ecrits par
elle-meme. 6 The Lettres Portugaises, not having been
written for the public or even for a circle of friends, are pur-
posely omitted here. Other works belonging to this some-
what indefinite class are the much earlier Histoire amoureuse
des Gaules, certain works of Madame d'Aulnoy, the largely
autobiographical Memoires de la Vie de Henriette Sylvie de
Moliere by Madame de Villedieu* and Madame de Murat's
Memoires de Madame la Comtesse de * * * ou la Defense
des Dames dans lesquels on verra que tres souvent il y a
beaucoup plus de malheur que de de*reglement dans la
Conduite des Femmes, 7 also largely autobiographical.
1 e.g. Courtilz de Sandras in the Vie de /. B. Colbert.
1 Thus the Memoires de M. L. C. D. R. (Rochefort) by Courtilz de
Sandras (1687). In the Memoires du Marquis de Montbrun (1701), Courtilz
de Sandras declares impudently that if some of the events described should
astonish certain ' personnes ' " tant pis, Ton n'est pas cause qu'elles soient
si mal instruites."
* Dictionnaire, in the article on Schomberg.
4 Cologne, 1675.
Leyden, 1678. These Memoirs are supposed by some to be apocry-
phal. But see Amedee Ren6e, Les Nieces de Mazarin (Paris, 1 856), pp. 286-
287, where it is urged that they are authentic and really written by her.
9 Paris, 1672.
7 Lyon, 1697.
THE MEMOIRES DE GRAMMONT 195
It must be remembered that, at this time, there is no
very hard and fast line between history and fiction. The
historiographers of Louis XIV can hardly be considered
free in their profession (and one of them, Mezerai, well
aware of his bondage, being dismissed writes on a bag,
" This is the last money I ever got from the King and
from that time onwards I have not found anything good
to say of him "). Other historians favour the histoire
anecdotique, and ' secret * histories. Varillas is at best a
' historien romanesque ' ; his work was found to be full of
inexactitudes and deliberate inventions. Saint-Real learns
from him the ' art of embellishing history ' ; historiographer
of Savoy, he writes both historical treatises and historical
novels. Vertot, composing a History of Malta, is said to
have refused the offer of some authentic documents con-
cerning the siege of Malta. " It is too late, I have written
my siege." And whoever may be responsible for the
apocryphal (Euvres posthumes of Saint-Real, the following
remark is not uncharacteristic of the period, " les incerti-
tudes de la Philosophic ne sont gueres plus grandes que celles
de 1'Histoire, et ceux qui 1'ont beaucoup lue disent que Ton
accommode 1'histoire a peu pres comme les viandes dans
une cuisine : chaque nation les apprete a sa maniere." 1
On the other hand, some of the ' nouvellistes/ Baudot de
Juilly, Vanel, Lesconvel, for instance, write historical works
as well as purely imaginary narratives ; Madame d'Aulnoy
gives a fairly detailed and sober account of the wars of
1672-1679,2 and even the works of Courtilz de Sandras may
be divided into those that have a strictly historical character,
such as the lives of Turenne and Colbert, and those that
deal with more imaginary personages while still purporting
to be true. One is nowhere on very sure ground. Bayle
preparing his dictionary is constantly inconvenienced by
these hybrid productions. In his article on Louis XIII he
not infrequently refers to the Memoir es d'Artagnan while
having to admit that some of the author's statements are
' very great falsehoods/ Elsewhere 3 he points out that
1 Saint-Real, Nouvelles (Euvres posthumes (Paris, 1699), pp. 145-146.
* Nouvelles ou memoires historiques, contenant ce qui s'est pass6 de
plus remarquable dans 1' Europe, tant aux Guerres, prises de Places et
Batailles sur terre et sur mer qu'aux divers interests des Princes et
Souverains qui ont agy depuis 1672 jusqu'en 1679 (Paris, 1693).
1 In his article on Nidhart.
196 ANTHONY HAMILTON
Madame d'Aulnoy's Memoires de la Cour d'Espagne are
really much more reliable than they are supposed to be,
but then, what can be done ? The public classes them with
other more or less ingenious works of fiction and they share
the general discredit. This state of confusion increases
from day to day, and, says Bayle, " Je croi qu'enfin on con-
traindra les Puissances a donner ordre que ces nouveaux
Romanist es ayent a opter : qu'ils f assent, ou des Histoires
toutes pures ou des Romans tout purs ou qu'au moins ils se
servent de crochets pour separer Tune de 1'autre, la ve*rite
et la faussete." 1
Then there is the impudence of these new authors. Their
books are full of the most barefaced untruths ; the persons
they write about are, however, not yet too remote, and
these inventions can still be easily enough exposed, but
what about the future ? Do we know what will happen
between the eighteenth and the twenty-eighth century ?
What if there be a complete eclipse of all learning followed
at length by a renascence ? Thousands of admirable works
may perish while such a one as the Amours de Gregoire VII
may escape destruction, and perhaps being unearthed by
some eager seeker, it will be supposed to contain priceless
anecdotes. We have been duped more than once by such
works, we are evidently to be duped in the ages to come.
Patience. 2
It may be asked whether Hamilton owes anything to
his predecessors who, with the fewest exceptions, are so
immeasurably below him. One page of the Memoires de
Grammont, it has been remarked, and rightly too, is worth
all Madame de Villedieu's works put together. 3 From the
mass of dull and feeble productions that encumber the last
thirty years of the reign of Louis XIV the Memoires de
Grammont emerge all the more triumphantly. But whether
they would have been written if Courtilz de Sandras had not
.
1 Dictionnaire, article on Gregoire VII ; cf. articles on Brez6 and
Schomberg. The excellent La Harpe, writing about a hundred years later,
cannot resign himself to the nouvelle historique either. " C'est une cor-
ruption de 1'histoire inconnue aux anciens et qui caracterise la 16gerete des
modernes que de defigurer par un vernis romanesque des faits importants
et des noms celdbres et de meler la fiction a la realite." (Lycee, VI, p. 230.)
* Cf. de Gallier, Madame de Villedieu, Bulletin de la Societe d' Archeologie
de la Drome, 1883, p. 128.
THE MfiMOIRES DE GRAMMONT 197
poured forth his would-be historical monographs, if Madame
d'Aulnoy had not described the court of Charles II in a work
that left much room for improvement is certainly doubtful.
The various lives composed by Courtilz de Sandras may
very well have given Hamilton the idea of writing the life
of his brother-in-law, though he did not quite carry out his
original intentions ; his own brother Richard figures in the
Memoires de J. B. de La Fontaine. As for Madame d'Aulnoy
who writes historical novels dealing with England, after
Courtilz de Sandras she is the author who most frequently
abandons the nouvelle historique, concerning itself with the
past, and launches forth into accounts of things she has seen
and of persons she has known, for like Courtilz she has
travelled much. She does not hesitate to call things by
their names ; she wishes the reader to be convinced of
what she relates. It is true that she often mars her narra-
tives by lapsing into the most unlikely and insipid fictions,
but still she is one of those who has helped to direct the
novel into new channels and who knew how to take advan-
tage of the ever-ready interest of the public in contemporary
events and personalities. She writes of the Spanish court,
the English court and the French court, very seldom dis-
guising the persons whose intrigues amoureuses she is
naturally relating. If the Memoires secrets de M. L. D. D. 0.
are really by her, 1 they are a most daring and libellous
account of Madame Henriette's relations with the Comte
de Guiche and others.
There is one author, however, with whom Hamilton
shows a decided affinity, the perpetrator of the notorious
Histoire Amour euse des Gaules, Gramont's friend and
kindred spirit, Bussy Rabutin, who is in some measure
responsible for what is least estimable in this transition
period of the novel, for the mass of half-libellous, half-
satirical anecdotes that are brought forward in some form
or other, for the prying curiosity, the unconcealed interest
in things indelicate, the lack of discretion, the complacent
disregard of the feelings of others, sparing not even the
King in that monarchic age nor, a fortiori, the Church
1 Mtmoires secrets de M. L. D. D. O[rleans] . . . par Mme d'Aulnoy,
Paris, 1696. As a rule Madame d'Aulnoy publishes her books anony-
mously. She complains in some of her prefaces that all kinds of works
not written by her are given under her name or, at least, attributed
to her.
198 ANTHONY HAMILTON
and the ladies at court 1 in short, for that spirit of opposi-
tion and barefaced cynicism that was to characterize the
regency. Brantome's bonhomie 2 has given way to a treacher-
ous persiflage. We must admit that Hamilton is of the
school of Bussy ; both of them, however, and Hamilton
in particular, are far above the unreadable productions of
half a century that separate the Histoire Amour euse from
the Memoir es de Grammont, works like the Amours des
Dames illustres de Notre Siecle, the Intrigues Amour euses
de la Cour de France, the France Galante and others of this
type. The Histoire Amour euse foreshadows the manner
of Hamilton, his lightness of touch, his irony, his uncharit-
able malice, the skill with which the portraits are drawn,
but here Hamilton's superiority is very apparent. Bussy's
portraits are much less varied than those of Hamilton's ;
there is a certain monotony about them ; compared to
some of those of the Memoires de Grammont they seem simple
enumerations of the ' charms ' of the persons described. 3
Moreover, Hamilton's style is even more polished than
Bussy's. A certain trenchant conciseness of expression, the
frequent epigrammatic turn of the phrases give the Memoires
a curious hard glamour that the Histoire Amour euse lacks. 4
Madame d'Aulnoy's Memoires de la Cour d'Angleterre
1 " L'on voit aujourd'hui des Gens qui osent avancer corame une chose
certaine qu'il n'y a point d'honnSte Femme," remarks Madame de Murat
in her Memoirs (1697), and the Abbe Lenglet Dufresnoy, looking back over
the novels of that age, points out at great length and not without some
naivete the wrong it is " de censurer dans un roman la personne des Rois,
de critiquer leur conduite, de les attaquer par des railleries, d'6taler leurs
vices et leurs defauts, de blamer leur gouvernement . . . surtout point de
satyre, point de railleries piquantes, point de bons mots, eloignons les de
nos oreilles autant que ceux qui ecrivent les doivent eloigner de leurs
livres." (De I'Usage des Romans, I, pp. 141, 152.) Similarly he remarks,
" Surtout n'oublions point les femmes a la cour . . . qui les offense a
tout redouter. Bussy ne 1'a que trop eprouve. II aimoit les bons mots
et il en a et6 recompense de la bonne sorte : il a recu dans toute son
etendue le fruit de cette ingenieuse satyre que la mre de tous les vices,
c'est a dire 1'oisivete lui a fait ecrire contre des femmes vraiment aimables."
(Ib., p. 160.)
1 Cf. Doumic, Brantdme et ' Vhonn&te ' Galantevie. (Etudes sur la
Litterature franfaise, Deuxieme Serie.)
8 Bussy's famous portrait of Madame de Sevigne is an exception.
4 Cf. for instance the following characterization of Turenne by Bussy
and of Charles II by Hamilton. The idea underlying is much the same in
both cases. " A 1'ouir parler dans son conseil, il paraissait rhomme du
monde le plus irresolu, cependant quand il etait presse de prendre son parti,
personne ne le prenait ni mieux ni plus vite." So much for Turenne. As
for Charles II, "II etait capable de tout dans les affaires pressantes et
incapable de s'y appliquer quand elles ne 1'etaient pas."
THE MEMOIRES DE GRAMMONT 199
appeared anonymously in 1695. They are of very slight
importance and hardly deserve the honour that has recently
been given them of a new English edition, 1 though Mr.
Gilbert's able editorship has done something to show that
they are not quite so negligible as had been thought. The
Memoires de la Cour d'Espagne and the Voyage d'Espagne
were marked by a certain simplicity and soberness, 2 by
a relative absence of the usual intrigues amoureuses, but
in the Memoires de la Cour d'Angleterre we have a series of
futile and largely imaginery adventures from which only
two or three episodes can be singled out as being confirmed
by contemporary authority, thus, for instance, the story of
the Count of Oxford and of the unfortunate actress Roxolana.
During the second half of the seventeenth century
various events the wanderings of Charles II, his Restora-
tion, the brilliance and dissoluteness of his court, the second
exile of the Stuarts had kept things English fairly con-
stantly before the French public ; a certain number of the
historical novels deal with England, 3 ' Bouquinkam ' was
1 Memoirs of the Court of England in 1675, by Marie Catherine Baronne
d'Aulnoy. Translated from the original French by Mrs. William Henry
Arthur. Edited . . . with Annotations by George David Gilbert. London.
John Lane, 1913.
2 The superiority oi these Memoirs is partly due to the fact that
Madame d'Aulnoy had had access to a MS. entitled " Etat de 1'Espagne de
1678-1682," attributed to the French Ambassador, the Marquis deVillars,
and since printed in 1733.
3 e.g. 1670 Ethelrod et A If rede in Les Annales Galantes, by Madame de
Villedieu, Paris, 1670.
1674 Nouvelles Galantes de la Reine Elisabeth d'Angleterre, by
Madame d'Aulnoy, Paris, 1674.
1675 Marie Stuart, Reine de France et d'Ecosse, nouvelle historique,
by Pierre le Pesant de Boisguilbert, Paris, 1675.
1676 Hattige ou les Amours du Roy de Tameran, nouvelle, by
Bremond. A. Cologne, chez Simon 1'Africain, 1676.
1677 Frideric, Prince de Galles, Paris, 1677.
1677 La Princesse d'Angleterre, Paris, 1677. Two vols.
1678 A If rede, Reine d'Angleterre, Paris, 1678.
1680 Le Comte de Richemont, Amsterdam, 1680.
1682 La Comtesse de Salisbury ou I'Ordre de la Jarretiere, by
d'Argences, Paris, 1682. Two vols.
1686 Le Due de Montmouth, nouvelle historique, Lidge, 1686.
1689 Marie de France, Reine d'Angleterre, by Cotolendi, Paris,
1689.
1690 Histoire secrete de la Duchesse de Portsmouth, Cologne, 1690.
1690 Hypolite, Comte de Douglas, by Mdme. d'Aulnoy, Paris, 1690.
1691 Les Amours de Messaline ci-devant Reine d' Albion ou sont
decouverts les secrets de I' imposture du Prince de Galles,
Villefranche, Plantie, 1691.
1695 Edward, Histoire d'Angleterre, Paris, 1695.
1695 La Cour de Saint-Germain, Paris, 1695.
200 ANTHONY HAMILTON
a name not unknown to French fiction, Bremond's Hattige
ou les Amours du Roy de Tamer an was a thinly disguised
narrative of the relations existing between Charles II and
Lady Castlemaine, x and Madame d'Aulnoy's Memoir es once
1696 Hisloire de Catherine de France, Reine d'Angleterre, by
Baudot de Juilly, Paris, 1696.
1696 Mylord Courtenay ou les premiers amours d 1 'Elizabeth, Reine
d'Angleterre, by Eustache le Noble, Paris, 1696.
1698 Histoire des Intrigues amoureuses du Pere Peters, Jesuite,
Con/esseur de Jacques II, ci-devant Roy d'Angleterre,
Cologne, 1698.
1700 L' Histoire du Comte de Clare, nouvelle galante, Amsterdam,
1700.
1700 Les Galanteries Angloises, nouvelles historiques, La Haye,
Louis Van Dole, 1700.
1704 Histoire du Comte de Warwick, by Madame d'Aulnoy, Paris,
1704. Two vols.
1705 La Tour Unebreuse et les Jours lumincux, Conies anglais
tires d'anciens manuscrits contenant la Chronique, les
Fabliaux et autres Potsies de Richard Premier, by Made-
moiselle L'heritier, Paris, 1705. Etc.
The following translations may also be mentioned :
1703 Memoires du chevalier Hasard, traduits de I'Anglois sur
I' Original Manuscrit, Cologne, 1703.
1708 Histoire secrtte de la Reine Zarah et les Zaraziens. Seconde
edition corrigee (by Mrs. Manley) dans le Royaume
d' Albion, 1708.
1713 L' Atlantis de Mad. Manley, contenant les intrigues politiques
et amoureuses d'Angleterre, La Haye, 1713. Three vols.
1 On the 4th of October, 1676, Bayle writes to Minutoli : " J'ai lu ces
jours passez les Amours du Roi d'Angleterre et de la Castelmaine sous le
npm des Amours du Roi de Tamaran. C'est un fort joli petit ouvrage,
bien 6crit et contenant des avantures bien tournees, mais qui ne donnent
pas une haute id6c du Prince." [Lettres, Amsterdam, 1729, I, p. 128.]
England is described by Br6mond as follows : " Le Tamaran . . . est
aujourd'hui un Royaume ou 1'Amour regne plus souverainement qu'il n'a
jamais fait en Chypre ni en Grenade. L'usage des galanteries y est devenu
si familier qu'il est presque aussi naturel d'etre galant que de vivre. L'on
y aime jusqu'aceque Ton soit tout a fait use et les jeunes gens, que 1'exemple
de leurs pdres autorise, ont encore besoin d'un Maltre qu'ils cherchent a
faire une Mattresse. . . . Les sujets, comme les Royaumes sont tels que
les Rois les font et celui de Tamaran etant un des plus galants Princes
qu'il y ait au monde, il ne faut pas s'etonner si dans tout son etat on ne
parle que de galanterie."
Keys were soon circulated. One of them was at one time in Nodier's
possession (cf. Nodier, Melanges tires d'une petite bibliotheque, Paris, 1829,
p. 95), another is preserved at the Record Office, among the French State
Papers for 1676, Vol. 141, No. 249. According to this key the personages
are explained as follows :
Roy de Tamaran . le roy d'Angleterre.
Hattige . la Duchesse de Geflande.
Zara . confidente de la Duchesse.
Rajep . M. de Chasuelle (Churchill), Amant de la Duchesse
Osman . le Due de Bouquaincam.
Moharen . Milord Candiche.
Roukia . Femme du Milord.
The book was printed in Holland, but Br6mond brought some copies to
THE MfiMOIRES DE GRAMMONT 2ol
more recalled ' Witehal ' and ' Hidparq ' and set forth the
love affairs of Monmouth, ' Bouquinkam/ of the Counts
of ' Candich ' and ' Evincher/ of the Countess of ' Schros-
bery/ of ' Nellecuin ' and of many others. This book, in
which Hamilton's cousin, the Count of Arran, is one of the
doubtful heroes, in which his uncle, the Duke of Ormonde,
is so unworthily made to act the part of a foolish elderly
lover, cannot but have been instrumental in turning back
England and had a certain number printed in London. The bookseller,
Bentley, to whom Bremond had entrusted some of them, ' finding the sale
quick,' ' innocently ' intended to have the book translated, but Oldenburg,
then secretary of the Royal Society, refused to license it, considering the
book " very unfit, not only to be translated, but to be vended in French,
as looking like a libel against the King." Bremond had impudently
dedicated it to Lord St. Albans, and assured Bentley that as soon as he
got any more copies, he would present one to the King, and that he was
engaged in writing a second part. A warrant was issued to L'Estrange to
search for the book, author, printer and publishers and bring them before
Williamson or a justice, and Bentley was seized on and examined ;
Bremond, however, seems to have been too elusive. Meanwhile Williamson
took steps to find out whether the book was really intended as a libel, and
his secretary managed to secure one of the above-mentioned keys through
a Paris correspondent. " I send you here inclosed," writes the latter,
" what you order' d me to enquire after, which I met with before I signified
so much to you, for otherwise I should have been loath to have explain'd
Tamaran in such terms. I have seen three severall editions of the book,
the First had the Clef printed with it, and I think I met with the first of
them that came to light in the Streat, so soft and dampy though stitched
up in a parchement Cover that one who had skill would rather say it was
newly corned out of the presse, then sweaty by its journey from Cologne.
The second Edition was printed without the Clef and the book and the
Clef each sold by themselves. This enclosed is one of them wch belongs to it
and the third has none that I can find. The first I saw in the hands of a
Woman that Cryed Garetes in the Streets, but since they have bin sold
at the Quay des Augustins where all books of that trampe are to be had."
(R.O. St. P., Foreign, France, 141, No. 249, W. Lancaster to Francis
Benson, Sept. 3oth, 1676.)
As for Bremond, he went on writing somewhat doubtful books and dedi-
cating them to English patrons : in 1676, the same year, la Princesse de
Mont/errat to the Earl of Plymouth ; in 1677, le Galant Escroc to Mulgrave,
le Triomphe de I' Amour sur le Destin to the Earl of Middlesex, I'Heureux
Esclave to Lord Ossory ; in 1678 le double Cocu to the Earl of Pembroke, etc.
In 1680 the translation of Hattige appeared in spite of all, viz. Hattige
or the Amours of the King of Tamaran. A Novel. Amsterdam. Printed
for Simon the African at the Black Prince in the Sun [R. Bentley, London ?],
1680. A reprint appeared in 1683 (Amsterdam), and in 1692 another
edition was openly published in England, viz. London, printed for R.
Bentley in Russel Street in Co vent Garden, 1692 (Vol. I of a series in
twelve volumes, called Modern Novels). Other editions appeared in 1720
and 1729.
(Cal. St. P., Dom., 1676-1677, pp. 76, 80, 81, 82, and Bayle, op. cit.,
note by Desmaizeaux).
Bremond publishes all his books anonymously ; he is usually called
Gabriel de Bremond, but it should be noted that Bentley, who knew him
personally, calls him Sebastien Bremond.
202 ANTHONY HAMILTON
Hamilton's thoughts to the Stuart court at the time that
it was gayest. Though the Memoir es de Grammont were
not composed until ten years later, there can be little doubt
that the errors and the feebleness of the earlier work are
in some measure responsible for the brilliant narrative to
which the reign of Charles II is indebted for part of its bad
reputation.
In 1704 then or in the beginning of 1705 Hamilton
announces his intention of composing a work that may give
some idea of the chevalier's ' merit/ 1 With a kind of mock
humility he acknowledges that there are many others
more capable of undertaking this task ; Boileau, for instance,
or Chaulieu and La Fare, or the reverend Fathers Massillon
and De la Rue or the Mercure Galant, but there being
difficulties in every case, there remains nothing but for
him to become the panegyrist. The plan was one that could
not but delight Gramont, for Gramont did not doubt that
he was " le plus joly courtisan qui ait jamais est." 2 We
read in a manuscript copy of lampoons :
Tou jours le Comte de Gramont
D'un Amant aura la figure,
II bnisle comme Cupidon,
II est plus galant que Mercure
Que coutait-il aux Dieux, nous 1'ayant donn6 tel
De le rendre immortel ? *
The best part of the story remains to be told ; it was
Gramont himself who composed the above lines. 4 A certain
amount of irony does, of course, enter into them, but
Gramont was not so very far from being in earnest when
he spoke about his deserving immortality. He often
jestingly assured his contemporaries that he would never
die, and in a sense his prediction has been fulfilled. Two
hundred years have elapsed since his death and he is still
very present to us.
Hamilton seems to have set to work soon after writing
the epistle alluded to, for the Memoirs, or at least the
largest part of them, were composed during the lifetime of
1 Epftre a Monsieur le Comte de Gramont, (Euvres, I, pp. i sq.
2 Bibl. Nat., m3. fr. 12688, p. 285.
8 Ib., p. 279.
4 Ib., p. 285.
THE MEMOIRES DE GRAMMONT 203
Gramont, 1 and Gramont, it will be remembered, died in
January, 1707. Early in 1712 Madame read them with
great delight in manuscript, and had a copy made for the
Duchess of Hanover, who professed to be no less ' diverted.' 2
In 1713 the Memoirs were suddenly published anony-
mously with the usual imprint of the doubtful and dis-
reputable books of the period, A Cologne, Chez Pierre
Marteau. 3 The editor gave out that he had received a
manuscript copy from Paris and that he had reproduced it
with the greatest exactitude possible. At any rate he com-
posed the title, for whereas from the extant manuscript
copies it would seem that Hamilton had given his work
the modest name of Fragmens de la Vie du Comic de Gramont,
it appeared in print as Memoires de la Vie du Comte de
Grammont, contenant particulierement I'Histoire Amoureuse
de la Cour d'Angleterre sous le Regne du Roi Charles II. The
sub-title especially was characteristic of the type of litera-
ture issued by that apocryphal person, Pierre Marteau, and
was calculated to attract the public.
There can be little doubt that the appearance of the
Histoire Amoureuse de la Cour d'Angleterre was as unwelcome
to its author as that of the Histoire Amoureuse des Gaules
was to Bussy, and that he was as little responsible for its
publication as Fenelon was for that of the Telemaque, or,
to quote a less illustrious example, his friend, M. de Cou-
langes, for that of his chansons which were printed to his
' great affliction/ 4 It was all very well to circulate the
manuscript among a few friends ; it was a different thing
to divulge it to the public at large. A few of the personages
1 Hamilton would hardly have written as he did in the following
sentences had he been writing after the Count's death : " Persuade, comme
il est encore, qu'en amour on gagne toujours de bonne guerre": MS. copy
preserved at the Bibliothdque Mazarine, cf. p. 301 infra (I, p. 79) ; and
" Pour moi, je ne me serais jamais avise de croire, que 1'attention du Comte
de Grammont, si vive aujourd'hui pour les inconvenients et les perils, lui
eut permis autrefois de faire de tendres raisonnements sur la route, s'il ne
me dictoit a present ce que j'ecris " (I, p. 348).
In any case the Memoirs were not written later than 1710, for Richard
Jones, Count of Ranelagh, mentioned as still alive (I, p. 125), died in
January, 1711.
2 Madame, Correspondance, II, pp. no, in.
8 As a rule these books were printed in Holland, but the bibliographer!,
Guillaume Fran9ois Debure, in his Catalogue des Livres du Cabinet de feu
M. Louis Jean Gaignat (Paris, 1769), enters the word Rouen in parenthesis
after Cologne in his description of the editio princeps (Vol. I, p. 571).
4 Sevigne, Lettres, X, p. 213.
204 ANTHONY HAMILTON
of the Memoirs were still alive ; Progers and Chesterfield
had disappeared just in time, but there remained Sir Stephen
Fox, Marlborough, Arabella Churchill (Mrs. Godfrey), the
Duchess of Monmouth, Miss Temple and her husband,
' Le Serieux Lyttleton/ Lady Robartes, Miss Hughes and
la belle Jennings, the widowed Duchess of Tyrconnel. 1
Except for the last-named, they were all indifferent enough
to Hamilton, especially as he no longer saw them ; still,
he had spoken of the mother of his friend Berwick in a way
that could not but be considered outrageous ; ' la belle
Stuart/ the aunt of the four sisters Bulkeley to whom he
was so much attached, had been treated little better, and
the ' young king ' could not be expected to appreciate the
account that was given of his father. Moreover, it could
hardly please Hamilton to contribute to the amusement
of the bourgeoisie by a work that was not intended for it
and to have his family affairs discussed by a class for whom
he had always entertained a profound contempt.
We do not know how the Memoirs were received by those
whom they concerned, but no special outcry seems to
have been raised. Apart from a circle of intimates nobody
knew who had written the book. Saint-Simon, and doubt-
less many others, believed that the author was really
Gramont himself, and spoke with righteous indignation
of the ' strange ' Memoirs that Gramont had not been
' ashamed ' to write. 2 Books of that type, all anonymous,
appeared so frequently at the time that, in France at least,
the Memoirs were not considered as anything particularly
scandalous.
Were the Memoirs really dictated by Gramont ? Once
or twice Hamilton interrupts his narrative to assure the
reader that he is only holding the pen for Gramont, 3 and
there was doubtless a certain amount of collaboration
between them. The Memoirs, it will be remembered, con-
1 The maid of honour, Mademoiselle La Garde, is, as a rule, mentioned
among the survivors ; she is stated to have lived till 1730, this, however,
must be an error. Hamilton tells us that she married Sir Gabriel Sylvius,
and Sir Gabriel Sylvius married in 1677 Miss Anne Howard (Evelyn, III,
p. 1 1 ). One is therefore led to suppose that Mademoiselle La Garde died
before this date, and, as a matter of fact, we find that in 1670 a certain
Madame Henriette de Bordes d'Assigny was appointed dresser and woman
of the chamber to the Queen ' in place of Lady Sylvius, deceased.' (Cal.
St. P., Dom., 1670, p. 437.)
1 Mtmoires, XI, p. 109 ; XIV, p. 265.
* (Euvres, I, pp. 20, 348.
THE MEMOIRES DE GRAMMONT 205
sist of two distinct parts : first, the adventures of the
Chevalier de Gramont before his exile, that is to say, certain
events which took place between the years of 1643 and
1662 ; and second, roughly speaking, the chevalier's
adventures in England from 1662 to 1664, though events
which took place in England after the chevalier's return to
France are occasionally alluded to. For the first part
Hamilton was altogether dependent on the information
that Gramont gave him ; for the second part he could and
did draw on his personal recollections as well, though he
was only seventeen or eighteen when the chevalier came
to England. At any rate, Gramont 's collaboration cannot
ever have amounted to anything more than the furnishing
of the materials. As we know, he was an awkward writer
though a brilliant talker, and the Memoirs are a very
elaborate work of art that must have cost their author
many an hour of patient, loving labour such as was unknown
to Gramont.
Sometimes Hamilton found the task very hard. From
the very beginning he had decided that to reproduce the
chevalier's bons mots or even his personal accounts of his
adventures was an undertaking altogether beyond his
powers, and as he progressed with his work, he became
more and more confirmed in his resolution. " This would
certainly be the place to mention his adventures," he
exclaims on one occasion, " but who can describe them
with such ease and elegance, as may be expected by those
who have heard his own relation of them ? Vain is the
attempt to endeavour to transcribe these entertaining
anecdotes, their spirit seems to evaporate upon paper and
in whatever light they are exposed, the delicacy of their
colouring and their beauty are, lost." 1 What made
Gramont 's stories so irresistible was not so much, according
to Bussy, the matter, as his Gascon accent and the expres-
sion on his face. 2 Whether Hamilton was successful or not
in laying hold of the chevalier's manner is a question that
could only have been settled by his contemporaries ; we
may note that Madame, at least, was extremely enthusias-
tic ; 3 to his latter-day readers it certainly seems that when
the chevalier is made to describe the misfortunes of Termes
1 Memoirs (ed. Gordon Goodwin), I, p. 66.
8 Correspondence, II, p. no.
8 Madame, Correspondance, II, p. no.
206 ANTHONY HAMILTON
and the embroidered coat, the siege of Lerida or the adven-
ture at the Lyons inn, his vivacity, his polite impudence,
his mock gravity, his flippant wit, his vainglorious affability
are rendered with the utmost skill.
Hamilton had originally intended to confine himself
to the adventures of Gramont after his return from exile
in 1664 ; his participation in the campaigns of 1668 and
1672 to 1678, his visit to England in 1670 and his connexion
with Buckingham's mission to France, his last appearance
in the Dauphin's army at the age of seventy, his various
' resurrections ' from severe illnesses, etc. 1 But, as we have
seen, he went back to the early years of Gramont's youth
it was possibly Gramont himself who persuaded him to do
this and though, for a while he still thought of continuing
the Memoirs down to more recent times, 2 his first plan was
ultimately abandoned.
The original draft of the Memoirs seems to have included
two chapters that unfortunately have not come down to
us ; the chevalier's adventures at the French court after
leaving Turin, the abduction of Mademoiselle de Boute-
ville by Gaspard de Coligny, 3 in which Coligny was aided
by Conde* and, as it would seem, by Mademoiselle de
Bouteville's cousin, Gramont ; Gramont's ' counsels ' before
the imprisonment of Conde, Conti and Longueville, his
' generous actions ' after that occurrence, and other minor
events. 4 It is impossible to say what became of these
1 Epltre a Monsieur le Comte de Grammont, passim ((Euvres, I).
1 Cf. (Euvres, I, p. 46. " Trin se rendit enfin . . . Je ne sais pas si le
chevalier de Grammont cut quelque part a la prise de cette place ; mais
je sais bien que, sous un regne plus glorieux et des armes partout victori-
euses, sa hardiesse et son adresse en ont fait prendre quelques-unes depuis,
a la vue de son maltre, C'est ce qu'on verra dans la suite de ces Mtmoires."
Now the Memoirs end abruptly with the chevalier's marriage.
3 Cf. the Histoire d'Angelie et de Ginolic in the Histoire amoureuse des
Gaules and Madame de Motteville, pp. 85-87.
4 Cf. the original ending of Chapter IV, quoted infra p. 303. This
is the text given in the two manuscript copies preserved, the one at the
Bibliotheque Nationale the other at the Bibliotheque Mazarine. Both
of these go straight on from Chapter IV (Chapter IV in the 1713 edition)
to Chapter VII (Chapter V in the 1713 edition). No pages have been cut
out of the MSS., no explanation is given of the gap. The copy at the
Bibliotheque Mazarine is divided into two parts, the second (Fragmens de
laViedu Comte de Gramont, Seconde Partie) beginning with the story of
the siege of Lerida. It is significant that the first part, in which the
missing chapters ought to have been, contains 1 76 pages over against the
244 pages of the second part. The copy at the Bibliotheque Nationale is
unfortunately imperfect and consists only of a first part which corresponds
with the first part of the Mazarine copy.
THE MfiMOIRES DE GRAMMONT 207
chapters ; they may have been lost accidentally, and
Hamilton was not the man to trouble to rewrite them ;
he may have suppressed them as not being equal in merit
to the rest of the work, or they may not have been to the
liking of Gramont ; in any case, we cannot but regret the
disappearance of what promised to be not the least interest-
ing chapters in this life of Gramont.
The ending of the Memoirs strikes one as singularly
abrupt. Hamilton, as if tired of his self-imposed task,
suddenly marries off all his personages without any warning,
but promises to give another instalment in which it is to be
set forth how these marriages came about, 1 a promise which
he probably never kept, for no sequel to the Memoirs has
ever been known to exist.
How has the hero of the Memoirs fared at the hands of
his biographer ? Saint-Simon, imagining that Gramont
had himself composed the Memoirs, remarked that his worst
enemies would not have dared to publish them. 2 Voltaire,
too, thought little of the role that was assigned to the
chevalier, a role which, according to him, amounted to little
more than cheating his friends at play, being robbed by
his valet and uttering some imaginary bons mots. 3 Neither
he nor Saint-Simon are altogether just to Hamilton ; so
skilfully are Gramont's shortcomings handled that he has
come down to us through the ages with his insolent ease
in no wise diminished. Not that Hamilton disguises his
hero's failings, from the very outset he gives his readers
to understand that he does not mean to pass these over
1 " Ce sera dans la troisiSme partie de ces Memoires, qu'on fera voir de
quelle manidre arriv^rent ces differentes avantures " ending of the manu-
script copy preserved at the Bibliothe'que Mazarine. Madame, writing to
the Duchess of Hanover, says : " Le Comte de Gramont . . . alia en
Angleterre. C'est a cette epoque qu'il y eut toutes les avantures que vous
trouverez dans le deuxidme livre. Dans le premier se trouve relatee sa
galanterie a la cour de Savoie. DSs que je pourrai avoir le tome troisidme
je vous le ferai copier et vous I'enveiTai " (Corr., II, p. no). One might
almost conclude from this that the sequel above mentioned was in
existence, but Madame is probably only alluding to Hamilton's promise
which, she must have discovered, he had not troubled himself to carry out.
Boyer ends his translation (1714) with the following words: "How
Love Affairs were manag'd in the English court, after these matches, shall
be faithfully related in the second volume of these Memoirs." But this is
a frank addition to the 1713 text and very likely refers to some continuation
that Boyer intended to undertake. The statement is omitted from the
1719 reprint.
Mtmoires, XIV, p. 265.
8 (Euvres, XIV (Sidcle de Louis XIV), pp. 78-79.
208 ANTHONY HAMILTON
in silence. But there are, of course, different ways of
treating the lapses of our fellow-men ; those of Gramont
are set forth as being very original, very amusing, very
witty and therefore very pardonable. Gramont is calmly
described as a man, " distinguished by a mixture of virtues
and vices so closely linked together, as in appearance to
form a necessary dependence, glowing with the greatest
beauty when united, shining with the brightest lustre when
opposed." 1 As for Gramont's cheating at cards, 2 that was
a less serious offence in the seventeenth century than it
would be now ; in Madame de Sevigne and Saint-Simon
we read of gentlemen addicted to similar habits ; Mazarin
is by no means free from reproach, and Madame de Staal
de Launay tells us that the Duchesse de la Ferte* used to
assemble her attendants and her purveyors at Lansquenet
and get the better of them by more than doubtful means,
because, she said, they robbed her in other ways. 3
Occasionally the praises of Gramont ring somewhat
hollow. One is slightly bored by the frequent rehearsal of
the chevalier's ' merit ' and popularity ; one wonders
whether Hamilton is quite serious and it is often exceed-
ingly difficult to know when Hamilton is serious and when
not in speaking of Gramont as a kind-hearted, noble,
generous defender of the oppressed and the helpless ; 4 one
wonders whether Hamilton, the most caustic and clear-
sighted of persons, is quite sincere in his professed admira-
tion for his brother-in-law. One thing is certain, and that
is that he is not quite in his element when, lapsing from his
usual ironical manner, he speaks charitably and without
the hidden sting. " On n'a pas tant d'esprit quand on
demande pardon que quand on offense/ 1 he says somewhere
in his Memoirs. " On n'a pas tant d'esprit quand on loue
que quand on critique," one might say, and apply this
adaptation to the case of Hamilton. The Tales show none
of this restraint.
1 Memoirs (ed. Gordon Goodwin), I, p. 3.
1 Goujas hints at Gramont's cheating Monsieur (Gaston d'Orleans).
(Mimoires de Nicholas Goujas (Paris, 1879, three vols.), II, p. 212, for the
year 1647.) Forty years later the Due du Maine, aged sixteen, has to
confess to Madame de Maintenon that, finding nobody who would play
petit jeu, he had played with Gramont and lost fifty pistoles against him.
(Maintenon, Correspondance Generale, III, p. 59.)
8 Mtmoires de Madame de Staal (ed. Michaud et Poujoulat, 1839), p. 689.
4 See especially (Euvres, I, pp. 44-45.
THE MEMOIRES DE GRAMMONT 209
In the second part of the Memoirs Gramont is less in
evidence. In the earlier chapters we have Gramont 's
emancipation from the guardianship of the sagacious
Brinon, his first exploits at the siege of Trino, his stay at
the court of Turin, the episode of the Fronde when Gramont
visits the hostile camps of Conde and Turenne ; everything
turns round Gramont, though we are introduced to some
other no less interesting personages, M. Cerise, the host, and
the fat little horse-dealer at Lyons ; that altogether delight-
ful kinsman of Brantome, Matt a, whose bons mots Madame
de Caylus still quotes fifty years after his death ; the
menage Senantes and M. de Cameran, who is so gracefully
fleeced, etc. But in the second part the mode of treatment
changes. Gramont is no longer quite the central figure.
The^ biographer forgets that his original intention was to
set forth the doings of the chevalier, so many are the recol-
lections that force themselves upon him. The portraits that
are almost absent from the first part now begin to abound.
The scene is suddenly thronged with the lords and ladies
of -the English court whom Hamilton had known so well,
the King, the Queen, the Duke and Duchess of York, those
amazing maids of honour, Mrs. Middleton, Lady Shrews-
bury, certain members of the Hamilton family ; Killegrew,
Arran, Talbot and Falmouth, all ' gens d'honneur,' Roches-
ter and Buckingham, ' little ' Jermyn, le beau Sydney and
many more. With some of the episodes Gramont has very
little to do. His love affair with Elizabeth Hamilton is
hardly given as much prominence as those of Charles II,
Lady Castlemaine and Miss Stuart, the Duke of York and
Miss Churchill, James Hamilton and Lady Chesterfield,
George Hamilton and Mrs. Wetenhall. This, however, is
intentional, for if Hamilton does not spare the beauties of
the English court, he is naturally careful in what he says
of his sister ; moreover, is not one of the less avowed
objects of the Memoirs to dispose of the legend of a certain
' manage force/ to dispel certain vague suspicions that
Miss Hamilton had been over-easy of access ? She is
certainly made to contrast very advantageously with the
other ladies. This was rather a difficult task to undertake,
but, on the whole, Hamilton has succeeded well enough,
especially by placing most of the praise bestowed on her
into Saint-vremond's mouth.
For the light it throws on some aspects of court life the
P
210 ANTHONY HAMILTON
second part of the Memoirs is the more important, but,
except for the inimitable portraits already mentioned, it
ranks less high than the first part from a literary stand-
point. Here every one of the episodes is a masterpiece,
unless, perhaps, we except the lengthy chapter dealing with
the chevalier's stay at Turin. Few will share Wieland's
preference for the second part. 1 Here Hamilton is led too
far away by his souvenirs, he himself becomes obviously
tired of his task ; some passages are frankly dull. Towards
the close of the book he makes us feel, unintentionally no
doubt, the hollow artificiality that crept into the pleasures
at court, the fatigue overtaking the constant pursuit of
cloying delights. The very headings of the chapters 2
betray a growing monotony, ' Intrigues amoureuses de la
cour d'Angleterre,' ' Autres intrigues amoureuses de
la cour d'Angleterre,' ' Autres intrigues amoureuses de la
cour d'Angleterre,' ' Suite des intrigues amoureuses de la
cour d'Angleterre,' ' Suite des intrigues amoureuses de cette
cour/ Pepys sums up the situation in a few words, " All
the court are in an uproare with their loose amours." 3 He
is less drawn out and more pithy than Hamilton. " She
[Lady Castlemaine] is fallen in love with young Jermyn
who hath of late been with her oftener than the King,
and is now going to marry my Lady Falmouth. The
King is mad at her entertaining Jermyn and she is mad
at Jermyn's going to marry from her : so they are all mad
and thus the kingdom is governed." 4
Of the more serious events of the reign Hamilton has
nothing to say. Whatever does not concern the court
does not concern him. As Michelet remarks of the court of
Louis XIV, " Que voulez-vous ? Ces gens-la se croyaient
un monde complet et ignoraient le reste." 6 And so let no
one be surprised if there is no mention of the great fire
or of the plague or of the ill-omened war with Holland. 6
As a matter of fact, Hamilton was too consummate an
artist to introduce anything so discordant into his picture.
1 Der neue Amadis (first edition, Leipzig, 1771), I, pp. 190, 192 n.
* These headings were not, of course, given by Hamilton, but they fit
the chapters remarkably well.
3 Diary, V, p. 148.
76., VII, p. 50.
5 Histoire de France, XV, p. vii.
6 These events, it is true, took place after the chevalier's departure,
but then a number of such events are included in the Memoirs,
THE MEMOIRES DE GRAMMONT 211
There is no doubt, however, that if Hamilton had set himself
to give a serious account of the events he had witnessed, he
might have accomplished something excellent in its way.
Certain passages, the description of the state of France
under Louis XIII, for instance, or the portrait of Cromwell
make one wish that he had devoted his talents to something
more worthy of them.
Like Le Sage Hamilton is a shrewd observer, and the
Memoirs are not without some curious remarks on the
world he lived in. It is interesting to find him describing
London as the most beautiful city in the world and the
English as the least submissive nation of Europe. The
English are also credited with a penchant for ' ce qui sent le
gladiateur/ while the French have the privilege of a certain
air of elegance which the foreigner can only acquire by
sojourning in France during his youth. The Spaniards
have imparted to Arlington his ponderous gravity and his
slowness in the conduct of affairs, while Chesterfield imitates
the Italians in his ceremonious manner and his exaggerated
jealousy of his wife. And so on. 1 There is a slightly ill-
natured sketch of a country wedding at Abbeville, a curious
account of the bowling greens and the ' rooks ' at Bath, a
charming little description of Tunbridge Wells that has
been compared to one of Meissonier's paintings, 2 and
scattered all through the Memoirs are illustrations of the
customs of the time that M. Charlanne, for one, has been
able to utilize in his recent book, L 'Influence fran$aise en
Angleterre au Dix-septieme Siecle.
The question whether Hamilton is trustworthy in his
facts and in his chronology has often been discussed, though
the critic is somewhat disarmed by Hamilton's peremptory
statement that neither dates nor order of events shall
trouble him. For the first part of the Memoirs and for the
passages of the second that deal with the private life of
Gramont there is not much verification possible, but the
fact that Gramont himself furnished Hamilton with the
materials is significant ; Gramont, as we know him, and a
1 The remark that Hamilton makes about the Swiss merchants (they
are also indifferently called Germans), viz. that they played like horses at
trictrac, formerly gave great offence to the German translators, and the
word ' Germans ' has been suppressed in the 1780 edition. (I, p. 14 ; cf.
also the preface.)
2 E. D. Forgues, Revue des Deux Mondes, September, 1857, p. 174,
(Le Comte de Rochester.)
212 ANTHONY HAMILTON
Gascon to boot, would not have the slightest scruples in
embellishing these materials if he thought best. Thus it is
by no means so very certain that Gramont was as haughty
to Mazarin as he would have us believe, 1 and as for what
he is pleased to call ' Mrs. Middleton's disgrace/ we know
that if there was any ' disgrace ' it was his own and not
Mrs. Middleton's. He had, it would seem, bribed Mrs.
Middleton's maid, and this estimable person kept not only
his money but the declarations intended for her mistress.
When at length Mrs. Middleton was informed of the
chevalier's pretensions she ordered him to keep quiet and
look elsewhere. 2
The second part, in so far as it deals with the English
court, has been subjected to frequent and minute examina-
tions. From Walpole downwards Englishmen have anno-
tated their Gramont. The British Museum possesses the
copies of Sir William Musgrave, Isaac Reed and the Rev.
John Mitford with their manuscript notes. Peter Cunning-
ham added an interesting appendix to his Story of Nell
Gwyn, endeavouring to show that practically all the events
alluded to in the second part of the Memoirs took place
during the chevalier's stay in England. Unfortunately,
misled by a letter of Charles II to which Dalrymple had
assigned a wrong date, 3 he assumed that the chevalier had
not been married till 1668 and had not left England till
1669. 4 All the English editions of the Memoirs are supplied
with copious notes, the late Henry Vizetelly's and Mr.
Gordon Goodwin's being among the best in that respect.
Quite recently there has appeared a German edition by
Dr. Karl Federn, Der Chevalier von Gramont, Hamilton's
Memoiren und die Geschichte, in which an entire volume is
given up to a very thorough investigation of Hamilton's
trustworthiness.
1 Maintenon, Corr. Gdnerale, I, p. 76.
1 Jusserand, French Ambassador, p. 93. Hamilton tells us that Gramont
"sans s'amuser aux formalites, ne s'adrcssa qu'a son portier pour 6tre
introduit " (I, pp. 24, 25). According to Courtin, she once refused a purse
of 1 500 jacobus that Gramont wished to give her. ( Forneron, Louise de
Keroualle. p. 67.)
* Dalrymple, Memoirs, II, p. 26.
4 Whereas, as we know, the Count and the Countess left in October,
1664. Sir William Musgrave said that the events mentioned in the Memoirs
appeared to have happened between the years 1663-1665. Cunningham
thought this too restricted, and set himself to prove it. (Story of Nell
Gwyn, p. 185.)
THE MfiMOIRES DE GRAMMONT 213
As a rule, Hamilton's facts are roughly confirmed by
contemporary authorities, such as Pepys, Evelyn, Reresby,
Clarendon, Burnet, the French Ambassadors' correspond-
ence, especially the correspondence of Cominges, etc. The
intrigues between Charles II, Lady Castlemaine and Miss
Stuart, the accusations brought against the Duchess of
York before her marriage was formally declared, the Queen's
illness and the King's short-lived emotion, the Duke of
York's intrigues with Lady Southesk, Lady Denham, Lady
Chesterfield and Miss Churchill, Chesterfield carrying off
his wife to the country, the Duchess of York's affection for
Henry Sydney, the seduction of the actress Roxolana, the
Muscovite embassy, the exiled Rochester in disguise, Miss
Jenning's orange girl escapade, the duel between Jermyn
and Howard, the duel between Shrewsbury and Bucking-
ham, the mysterious attack on Killegrew we know from
Hamilton's contemporaries that all these things really
took place, even the ugliness of the Portuguese ladies in
the suite of the Queen we read about in Evelyn and
Clarendon ; in the main Hamilton's narrative is certainly
correct. 1 And let us remember that most of the anecdotes
he relates are intimately connected with members of his
family and relations such as Arran, Lady Chesterfield 'and
Mrs. Wetenhall ; that at St. Germain he was well acquainted
with Lady Sophia Bulkeley, 'la belle Stuart's' sister, and
that writing mainly for a small circle of friends who were
very familiar with all the events and personalities described
he would hardly have dared to introduce any too palpable
falsehoods.
A great many details are, of course, too highly coloured
1 Thus for long it was asserted that there was no such maid of honour
as the unfortunate Mademoiselle Warmestre ; according to annotators,
Hamilton was alluding to Mary Kirk, but Lord Cornbury's letter of June 10,
1662 (printed in Warburton's Memoirs of Prince Rupert, III, pp. 461-464),
in which the newly formed household of the Queen is described, expressly
mentions a Mrs. Warmestry. Miss Price, it was said, was not a maid of
honour to the Duchess but to the Queen ; we know now, however, that
Miss Price, maid of honour to the Queen, had a sister who was attached
in a similar capacity to the Duchess. (Memoirs, ed. Gordon Goodwin, note
E. 275). Cunningham took great pains to prove that the actress seduced
y the Earl of Oxford was known as Roxolana and not as Roxana ; if he
had referred to the first edition he would have found that Hamilton did
give her name correctly and that this name was changed by Boyer.
Similarly it is Boyer and not Hamilton who must be accused of calling
Sir Charles Berkeley George, the first edition merely calls him le chevalier
de Barklay.
214 ANTHONY HAMILTON
to be accepted, too obviously arranged for picturesque
effect, 1 and there are a certain number of errors, some of
them insignificant enough ; thus, the fortune of the Duchess
of Monmouth is made out to be less considerable than it
really was, and two different visits of the court to Tunbridge
Wells have been confused ; 2 these inexactitudes are natural
enough, but there are one or two cases in which Hamilton
wilfully departs from the truth for the sake of effectiveness ;
Sir John Denham is made out to be seventy-nine at the
time of his marriage in 1665, whereas he was only about
fifty, and Colonel John Russell figures as a ridiculous rival
of Gramont's because of his advanced age, viz. sixty, while
at most, he can only have been six or seven years older
than the invincible chevalier. 8 Such misstatements
naturally lead one to distrust Hamilton, and where verifica-
tion is not possible, Hamilton's facts can only be accepted
with some caution.
As for Hamilton's chronology, it is very loose indeed.
This, however, can scarcely be wondered at when we
remember that forty years elapsed between the events
described and the composition of the Memoirs ; the wonder
is that Hamilton remembers as much and as accurately
as he does. Practically all the events in the second part
of the Memoirs are represented as having taken place during
the chevalier's stay in England, 4 during the year 1663 and
most of the year of 1664 ; as a matter of fact, we are taken
as far as 1670 which proves incidentally, if proof were
needed, that Gramont could not possibly have dictated
certain parts of the Memoirs and not only is the order
of events during these six or seven years a fairly arbitrary
one, but certain events, separated by an interval of some
years, are made to have taken place at the same time : Miss
Jennings's exploits as an orange girl, the Duchess of York's
intrigues with Henry Sydney, the marriage of Sir John
Denham and its unhappy ending, Nell Gwyn's conquests,
1 e.g. the reconciliation and the treaty between Charles and Lady
Castlemaine, as negotiated by Gramont.
1 The visit of 1663 and 1666. Lord Muskerry and Nell Gwyn are spoken
of as being at Tunbridge. But Nell Gwyn was unknown in 1663, and Lord
Muskerry was dead in 1666.
8 William Russell, the brother who came before John, was born in 1613
(D.N.B.) or 1616 (G.E.C.'s Complete Peerage) ; Gramont was born in 1621.
4 The only exception is the story of the letter Gramont wrote to Lord
CornwalUs ' a long time afterwards,' as Hamilton admits.
THE MfiMOIRES DE GRAMMONT 215
the Duke of Richmond's courtship of la belle Stuart, the
Shrewsbury- Killegrew-Buckingham affair, the elevation of
Lady Castlemaine to the rank of duchess, the publication of
Dryden's translation of Ovid's epistles 1 all are subsequent
to Gramont's visit, 2 though no indication is given of this.
Rochester was only fifteen when Gramont came to England,
and even though a precocious young courtier, could hardly
have been responsible for all the exploits with which he is
credited ; he was probably at that time travelling on the
Continent with his tutor. Churchill was even younger and
was certainly not established as Lady Castlemaine's lover
when the court returned from Bath in 1663.
The confusion of the two visits to Tunbridge Wells in
1663 and 1666 has already been mentioned, but the in-
accuracy does not end there. The court of the Duke of
York is supposed to have gone to York at the same time
though we know that this was in 1665. The royal court
is made to go to Bath the year after having been at Tun-
bridge, though we know that both visits took place in the
same year ; 3 nor is it quite easy to see how Hamilton fell
into this last error, for since the chevalier came to England
in January, 1663, an d married Miss Hamilton in December
of the same year, he could not very well hover round Miss
Hamilton at Tunbridge one summer and regret her absence
from Bath the next. The planning of the Guinea expedition
is placed after the visit to York though it preceded it by
one year.
Lord Chesterfield's discovery of his wife's intrigues with
the Duke of York and the sudden departure of husband
and wife for the country are made to turn on the audience
of the Muscovite ambassador and the ensuing episode of
the green stockings. The whole story is very effective
and ingenious, but it is more than doubtful that Lady
Chesterfield was in town at the time of the audience. 4
1 Unless Hamilton is referring to some manuscript version by some
author other than Dryden.
1 Some would add to these the masquerade at which Lady Muskerry
appeared, or wished to appear, as the Princess of Babylon. Evelyn (II,
p. 223) and Pepys (IV, p. 348) certainly mention in February, 1665, a
masquerade where the dancers performed in ' most rich and antique
dresses,' but why identify this masquerade, as has so often been done, with
the one mentioned by Hamilton ?
3 Cf. Pepys, III, pp. 246, 265.
4 Pepys mentions the departure for the country in the beginning of
Nov., 1662 (II, p. 384). On the ipth of January Lady Chesterfield was
216 ANTHONY HAMILTON
Moreover, Lady Chesterfield had been carried off into exile
before Gramont's arrival in England, whereas Gramont is
described as being one of those most incensed by Chester-
field's conduct. The rivalry between Lady Denham and
Lady Chesterfield is an important factor in this story,
but there was no Lady Denham until three years after the
Muscovite embassy and the Duke of York, in love with
Lady Chesterfield at the time of the audience, cannot
possibly have had an earlier love affair with Lady Denham.
Lady Chesterfield, according to Hamilton, survived Lady
Denham ; as a matter of fact, she died two months after
Lady Denham's marriage in 1665 and a year and a half
before that lady's tragic death.
Richard Talbot is made to appear as Gramont's most
dangerous rival for Miss Hamilton's hand ; his quarrel with
the Duke of Ormonde, his imprisonment in the Tower and
his subsequent departure for Ireland put an end to Gramont's
apprehensions. But this affair took place in 1661, at least
a year and a half before Gramont had even seen Miss
Hamilton, so that if Talbot was ever a rival of Gramont's
it can only have been after and in spite of his disagreement
with Ormonde, after his return from Ireland in the summer
of 1663, when, according to Hamilton, he fell in love with
Miss Jennings.
Killegrew's intrigue with Lady Shrewsbury and the
attempt to murder him are supposed to have taken place
' a few months ' after the Duke of Monmouth's marriage
which was celebrated in 1663, while the above attack is
only mentioned in 1669 by Pepys 1 and the Ambassador
Colbert ; 2 further the duel between the Duke of Bucking-
ham and Lord Shrewsbury was fought before and not after
the occurrence, as Hamilton suggests.
Like everyone else Hamilton has his likes and dislikes.
Charles II is treated very indulgently ; 8 not infrequently
still in the country (Pepys, III, p. 18, cf. p. 2), and the audience of the
Muscovite ambassador took place in the end of December (Pepys, III,
p. 428). It is true that the audience Pepys refers to is that of the King,
and that Hamilton is speaking of the audience granted by the Queen, but
even admitting that these were two different audiences, it is not likely
that the Queen received the ambassador two months before the King.
1 Diary, VIII, p. 327.
1 Correspondence quoted in Forneron's Louise de Kfroualle.
8 (Euvres, I, pp. 249, 281, 353, 359.
THE MfiMOIRES DE GRAMMONT 217
he is called ' le bon prince ' ; for James, on the contrary,
Hamilton has but scant sympathy ; throughout the narra-
tive the Duke is more or less ridiculous ; the brief character,
however, given of him at the beginning is traced with some
caution, " he had the reputation," " he was accounted " ;
in the case of Charles, Hamilton is much more direct and
outspoken. Sir Charles Berkeley, afterwards Earl of Fal-
mouth, is another of his favourites, for Hamilton does not
measure by the standard of Burnet who saw in Berkeley
no " visible merit, unless it was the managing of the King's
amours." 1 Berkeley, it will be remembered, had got
together the ' men of honour ' who were to swear away the
reputation of the Duchess of York, but it seems that Hamil-
ton is not quite exact in limiting Berkeley's participation
there and making Killegrew chief witness against the
Duchess ; that role was undertaken by Berkeley himself,
according to Pepys 2 and to Clarendon. 3 It may be noted
that Clarendon does not mention the ' men of honour/
Arran, Killegrew, Talbot and Jermyn in this connexion,
and if anyone, he ought to have known who were the
accusers of his daughter ; on the other hand, these gentle-
men were perhaps not over-braggart about the affair, the
story of which Hamilton had probably directly from his
cousin Arran.
Clarendon and Arlington are disliked by Hamilton ;
against the Duke of Richmond he nourishes an ancient
grudge because the Duke considered Elizabeth Hamilton's
poverty an obstacle to their union ; the rest of the courtiers
are treated with more or less polite contempt even Richard
Talbot who married George Hamilton's widow does not
escape quite unscathed and if they are in the least inclined
to be serious or erudite, Prince Rupert, for instance, an
awkward lover it is true, the two Russells, uncle and
nephew, Sir Charles Lyttleton, Sir Gabriel Sylvius, Sir
Thomas Wetenhall, etc., they come off rather badly.
As for the ladies of the court, with the fewest of excep-
tions, they are made to appear in the most unlovely light.
For the Queen and the Duchess of York Hamilton has
a certain amount of esteem ; Miss Bagot became the wife
of his friend, Sir Charles Berkeley, and is therefore well
1 History of his own Times (ed. Airy), I, p. 181.
* Diary, I, p. 305.
3 Life, II, p. 61.
2i8 ANTHONY HAMILTON
spoken of ; the same applies, of course, to Elizabeth Hamil-
ton and to ' little Jennings,' who afterwards married George
Hamilton. But apart from these there is hardly one against
whom Hamilton does not insinuate some accusation 1 or
whose shortcomings he does not mercilessly expose, for
Hamilton is not the man to suppress a picturesque detail
in order to save a reputation. " I never knew a woman/'
says Byron, " who did not hate De Gramont's Memoirs . . .
women hate everything which strips off the tinsel of senti-
ment." 2
All this brings us to the much-discussed question of the
morality of the Memoirs. The book has been on the Index
since iSiy, 3 and, indeed, the Church could scarcely be
expected to appreciate, amongst other things, the light-
hearted mock-religiousness that runs through the Memoirs
Miss Stuart becoming chief favourite, " a situation to
which it had pleased God and her virtue to raise her/' Miss
Brook accepting the Duke of York's advances, " until it
pleased Heaven to dispose of her otherwise," Miss Bellen-
den, Mademoiselle La Garde and Mademoiselle Bardou,
" all maids of honour as it pleased God," the chevalier
informing Charles " how Heaven had favoured him by
delivering him from so dangerous a rival," the valet Termes
avoiding " by the grace of God " the quicksands of his own
invention. Brounker " blessing the Lord " for his success
in a most despicable undertaking, and so on. When Bohn
published an edition of the Memoirs in 1846 he doubted
the propriety of including it in his Standard Library in
which he had hitherto given his subscribers only works of
' sterling character ' ; the Memoirs, therefore, appeared in
a separate series, viz. Bohn's Extra Volumes, which included
such works as the Heptameron, the Decameron, Gargantua
and Pantagruel, ' too much embued with the leaven of the
age/ 4
It is true that the Memoirs can hardly be called a moral
1 In the Cambridge History of English Literature, VIII, p. 264, it is
stated that even Evelyn's friend, Mrs. Godolphin, is treated with contempt
in the Memoirs. This is an error, for the Mrs. Blagge (or Mademoiselle
Blague) alluded to throughout is Margaret Blagge's older sister, Henrietta
Maria.
1 Letters and Journals, V, p. 97, and cf. p. 321 : "I never knew a woman
who did not protect Rousseau, nor one who did not dislike De Gramont,
Gil Bias and all the comedy of the passions brought out naturally."
8 Index Librorum prohibitorum (Romae, 1911, 3rd edition), p. 212.
* Preface to Bohn's edition.
THE MfiMOIRES DE GRAMMONT 219
work. It was, of course, manifestly impossible to produce
an edifying work on the court of Charles II, and if Hamilton
did not produce one, that is scarcely his fault. If some
object to the matter set forth in his pages, the same objec-
tions can be urged against most other writers of the period,
including Pepys. It may be argued that it was not necessary
to produce such a work which has not even the excuse of
being a diary and that it is a significant fact that Gramont
and Hamilton should employ their old age the one was
about eighty-four and the other sixty in writing up the
complacent souvenirs of the chevalier's youth. However
that may be, we should have been considerably the poorer
if they had not done so, even though our code of morals
has changed considerably since the days of the Stuarts
and the Vendomes in whose society Hamilton lived. But
what has especially been laid to the charge of Hamilton is
a certain lack of moral indignation. It is true that he has
none of Evelyn's austere disapproval ; he is not, like Pepys,
impressed by the gravity of the scandals which he retails.
He gives an easy tolerant picture of his times. Very few
events excite his comment. If he remarks at all on the
intrigues he is recounting, his remarks are not unlike the
half-sceptical Maximes that had for so long been practised
and elaborated in certain salons. 1 But, as a rule, he will
tell you with a certain grave suavity that his brother James,
abandoned by Lady Chesterfield for the Duke of York,
" ne compta pour rien 1'injure d'un epoux en comparaison de
celle d'un amant," or that Brounker, quietly recognizing
little Jennings in the orange girl and suspecting her of being
bound on a doubtful errand, " bien que Jermyn fut le
meilleur de ses amis, il sentait une joie secrete de n'avoir
pas empeche qu'il ne fut cocu devant que d'etre marie."
Certain maids of honour all deserve to be dismissed, accord-
1 e.g. Quelqu'esprit qu'on ait, on n'est point plaisant pour ceux qu'on
importune (I, p. 71). II vaut mieux ne rien savoir que de savoir trop de
choses (I, p. 73). II y a des temperaments heureux qui se consolent de
tout parce qu'ils ne sentent rien vivement (I, p. 225). La raison d'etat se
donne de beaux privileges. Ce qui lui parait utile devient permis, et tout ce
qui est necessaire est honnete en fait de politique (I, p. 105). Le public
s'accoutume de tout et le temps sait apprivoiser la bienseance et la morale
(I, p. 365). Si 1'amour rend les conditions egales, ce n'est pas entre rivaux
(I, p. 104). Rien n'est si commun au beau sexe que de ne vouloir pas qu'une
autre profite de ce qu'on refuse (I, p. 63). La bonne opinion qu'on a
toujours de soi-meme fait qu'on s'imagine qu'une femme est prise dds
qu'elle vous distingue par une habitude de familiarite qui bien souvent ne
veut rien dire (I, p. 375), etc.
220 ANTHONY HAMILTON
ing to Hamilton, either for their misconduct or for their
ugliness, the one being as great a crime as the other. The
one thing that is qualified as monstrous in the whole of the
Memoirs is Gramont's appearing at the masquerade in a
suit that he had worn before.
We must, however, remember that all the events thus
lightly treated had taken place at least forty years before
and that they were now, somewhat dim and unreal after
so long a space, recounted by one who had lived through
much, had few illusions left and found the eternal folly of
humanity a not altogether unentertaining spectacle. It
has been well said 1 that the subject could not have been
handled with decency, unless ironically, in so far as it is
a biography. And Hamilton's grave irony is a curious
thing, as we know, it often leaves the reader wondering
how far Hamilton intends himself to be taken seriously.
The indignation roused by Chesterfield's jealousy of his
wife is, for instance, described in quizzical mock-heroics
that must prove slightly disconcerting to the simple-
minded. It must also be said in Hamilton's defence that
he is " superior to the indelicacy of the court " the phrase
is Walpole's ;* whatever may be urged against the Memoirs
they are not coarse ; Hamilton might have said more
things and worse things about what Pepys calls the ' bawdry
at court ' ; 3 he avoids all grossness of expression, in fact,
he imparts to the proceedings at Whitehall a certain grace
and polish peculiarly French, and much more likely to be
found at the court of Louis than at the Stuart court. It is
sufficient to read some of the English writings of the period
to be convinced of this ; even the English translation of
the Memoirs no longer has the polite charm of the French
version 4 which might have made Gui Patin, had he lived
1 By Mr. Stephen Gwynn in an excellent article on Hamilton in
Macmillan's Magazine for May, 1898.
1 Catalogue of Engravers (London, 1782), p. 135.
* Diary, III, p. i.
4 It has become a commonplace to say that certain things easily enough
expressed in French would seem coarse if transferred to our language or
to another. It is, however, interesting to note in this connexion that
already in 1778 the editors of this Bibliothique universelle des Romans
condemn one of Wieland's tales on this score. " C'est surtout dans le genre
un peu libre que les Fra^ois excellent. Us ont plus que toute autre nation
1'art de gazer certains tableaux, qu'eux seuls peuvent offrir 4 la meilleure
compagnie qui en seroit revoltee, s'ils lui etaient presentes par toutes
autres mains que par les n6tres. Le Conte du Prince Biribinker est dans
THE MfiMOIRES DE GRAMMONT 221
long enough, alter his opinion of the English, " saevi,
feroces et ferini, ideoque pene fatui." 1
It may seem to some that an exaggerated value has been
assigned to the Memoirs in the preceding pages, in so far
as the Memoirs are a source of the history of Charles II.
But apart from the store of information they furnish to
the historian and none has drawn on them as largely as
Macaulay they are curiously interesting from the insight
they give us into a certain mentality. We have a number
of contemporary works dealing with the court of Charles II ;
there is the diary of Evelyn, that devout Anglican gentle-
man who does not love the " buffoons and ladies of
pleasure " 2 at Whitehall ; there is the diary of that bustling
gossiping bourgeois, the very delightful Pepys with his
naive love of the sensational ; there is the pleasant and
direct narrative of Sir John Reresby, courtier and country
squire ; there is the Life of the dignified and discreet
Lord Chancellor, Clarendon, who only speaks of Lady
Castlemaine as ' the Lady ' without ever naming her ;
there is Burnet's somewhat more detailed and realistic
History of His Own Times, in which the author would
fain avoid scandalous stories : " I love not to give characters
of Women, especially when there is nothing good to be said
of them." 3 But these were all more or less outsiders, none
of them take us so directly into the heart of things as Hamil-
ton does or gives us the point of view of the courtier who
has lived in the midst of these proceedings and has no
particular interest in bringing discredit upon the Dorimants,
Medleys and Sir Foplings he used to associate with ; none
of them is so representative of the spirit of the age or helps
us quite so well to understand the personages of the Restora-
tion Drama, and how it was that Charles II " had a very ill
opinion both of men and women ; and did not think there
were either sincerity or chastity in the world out of principle,
but that some had either the one or the other out of humour
and vanity." 4
ce Genre. M. Wieland est Allemand : il a voulu iraiter Tanzai et Angola ;
il s'est rapproche de quelques idees des Auteurs de ces deux contes, mais
il n'a pas saisi leur ton." (Bibliotheque universelle des Romans, Septembre,
1778, pp. 176-177.)
1 Lettres (Paris, 1846, 3 vols.), Ill, p. 287, cf. p. 134.
z Diary, II, p. 279 ; cf . Mr. Austin Dobson's introduction.
Life, II, p. 317.
4 Burnet, History of his own Times (Airy's ed.), I, p. 167.
222 ANTHONY HAMILTON
Little has been said so far about the literary merits of
the Memoirs. Not infrequently, and in France especially,
in accordance with the judgment of Voltaire, the literary
merits of the Memoirs are held to be far above their historical
value ; in fact the graceful manner of the author is supposed
to redeem the triviality of the subject. The Englishman,
as a rule, holds another view, but this will not detract from
his appreciation of the literary flavour of the Memoirs.
They would be read for their style alone were it for nothing
else. Madame du Deffand, no mean judge either, once
remarked that only certain books written with a peculiar
facility could with ease be read again and again, and even
continually, and such books, according to her, are the
Letters of Madame de Sevigne, the Memoires de Grammont,
possibly also the Memoirs of Mademoiselle de Montpensier
and only a very few others. 1 Insolent in their levity,
exquisite in their finish, the Memoirs are certainly very
agreeable reading. Like Hazlitt's Coffee House Politicians
we all delight in some passage or other. Hamilton's irre-
sistible persiflage makes light of everything. If anyone is
skilled in the art of making the most of little things it is he,
the merest trifle becomes something delightful in his hands.
As one of his French admirers remarks of the Memoirs, " il y
porta 1'esprit jusqu'a une sorte de ge*nie." 2 And no one
knows better how to tell a story effectively and without
the least apparent effort. When Hamilton describes
Gramont's despoiling the unwitting M. de Cam^ran or the
irresponsible Matta's encounters with the learned M. de
Senantes, or the amazing fate of the suit engulfed in a quick-
sand to reappear at a country wedding, his vivacity and
sprightliness are unsurpassed. The account of Gramont's
adventures at Lyons with the disreputable host and the
equally disreputable horse-dealer is a masterpiece in its
own way ; the scene is not unlike one of Teniers' paintings
and the inn will assuredly be ranked with the classical and
no less doubtful hostelries visited by Don Quixote and Gil
Bias."
Though the different chapters of the Memoirs seem
strung together in the most haphazard fashion, the Memoirs
1 Lettres, II, pp. 233-234.
1 Lescure, Avant-Propos in his edition of Hamilton's Tales.
8 As M. de Saint- Victor points out in his essay on the Memoirs (Anciens
et Modernes).
THE MfiMOIRES DE GRAMMONT 223
are in reality very cleverly composed. This is especially the
case when Hamilton interrupts his story to introduce some
accessory episode. Most of the novels of the time abound
in dull and cumbrous recits intercales, even the Diable
Boiteux is not free from them and, as a rule this does
not, of course, apply to Le Sage they are introduced in
a very primitive way ; a word or two announces the story,
and the title of the new episode, printed in large capitals,
comes to isolate it from the main plot. Not only are Hamil-
ton's recits intercales strictly connected with the story,
but they are most skilfully worked into it, as the following
examples may show :
" Je conviens de tout cela, dit le chevalier, mais je veux
te faire convenir que tu n'es qu'une poule mouillee dans cette
occasion. Et que seroit-ce de toi si tu te voyois dans 1'etat
ou je me suis trouve a Lyon, quatre jours avant d'arriver
ici ? Je t'en veux faire le recit " (Chapter II).
" Le Roi s'en apergut d'abord : Chevalier de Grammont,
lui dit-il, Termes n'est done point arrive ? . . . Pardonnez-
moi, sire, dit-il, Dieu merci. . . . Comment, Dieu merci ? dit
le Roi : lui seroit-il arrive quelque chose par les chemins ?
Sire, dit le chevalier de Grammont, voici 1'histoire de mon
habit et de M. Termes, mon courrier. A ces mots, le bal
tout pret a commencer fut suspendu. Tous ceux qui
devoient danser faisoient un cercle autour du Chevalier de
Grammont ; il poursuivit ainsi son recit " (Chapter VII).
" Non, Madame [Gramont is speaking to the Queen], je
ne compte pour rien la parade des carrosses et des laquais.
Je me suis vu cinq ou six valets de chambre a la fois, sans
avoir jamais eu de domestique en livree, excepte mon
aumonier Poussatin. Comment ! dit la Reine en eclatant
de rire, un aumonier portant vos couleurs ! Ce n'etoit
pas apparemment un pret re ? . . . Pardonnez-moi, madame,
dit-il, et le premier pretre du monde pour la danse basque.
Chevalier, dit le Roi, je veux que vous nous contiez tout a
Theure 1'histoire de I'aumonier Poussatin "* (Chapter VII).
Hamilton is no less skilful in his transitions. One instance
will suffice ; let the reader remember the way in which
Hamilton passes from a general account of the reign of
1 Cf. also the ingenious way in which the story of Marion Delorme is
brought in.
224 ANTHONY HAMILTON
Louis XIII to the siege of Trino and the chevalier's exploits
(Chapter II). It is exceedingly well done. His conversa-
tions, as the above examples will have shown incidentally,
are admirably natural in their easy flow of wit ; in fact,
Voltaire thought the Memoirs a model of sprightly conversa-
tion. 1
The portraits are the glory of the second part of the
book. They have not, indeed, the depth of Saint-Simon's
portraits, they are drawn with a much lighter touch ;
Madame de Caylus not infrequently recalls Hamilton's
manner. Where Saint-Simon is bitter, Hamilton is merely
malicious ; where Saint-Simon is beside himself with fury
Hamilton is little more than mildly amused. But Saint-
Simon always excepted, there is nothing in the literature
of portraits with which Hamilton's portraits will not com-
pare favourably. They are too well known to be quoted
at length ; the most famous are the uncharitable portraits
of Arlington and of Mrs. Wetenhall, the beaut e tout anglaise ;
scarcely less striking is that audacious full-length portrait
of Elizabeth Hamilton. Even when Hamilton does not
think a person important enough for one of the regulation
portraits, he can indicate the likeness in a line or two. His
epithets are akin to epigram. There is the excellent Brinon,
" plus renfrogne* qu'un vieux singe " ; the host C&ise,
" Suisse de nation, empoisonneur de profession et voleur
par habitude " ; M. de Senantes, " fort en g&ialogie
comme tous les sots qui ont de la m&noire " ; Don Gr^gorio
Brice, the conventional Spaniard, " vaillant comme le Cid,
fier comme tous les Gusman ensemble, plus galant que tous
les Abencerrage de Grenade " ; the Portuguese ladies in
the Queen's suite, " six monstres qui se disaient filles
d'honneur " ; Miss Price, " ronde et ragote " ; Peter Talbot,
" j^suite intrigant et grand faiseur de manages " ; William
Russell, " guinde dans toutes ses allures, taciturne a donner
des vapeurs, cependant un peu plus ennuyant quand il
parloit " ; Sir Gabriel Sylvius, " personnage qui n'avoit
rien de ce que promettait le nom romain " ; the valet
Termes, fresh from the fabulous quicksands, " crotte* depuis
la tete jusqu'aux pieds, botte jusqu'a la ceinture, fait enfin
comme un excommunie " ; one might go on indefinitely
giving instances of these vignettes ; there is one last one to
which attention may be drawn for its resemblance to a line
* (Euvres, XIV, p. 78,
THE MfiMOIRES DE GRAMMONT 225
of Victor Hugo's, viz. the description of Mademoiselle
Bardou, " armee de castagnettes et d'effronterie," which
recalls to one's mind the more famous " vetu de probite
candide et de lin blanc." 1
Whether Hamilton's phrase in any way suggested Victor
Hugo's would be difficult to say, but a book that was so
much read could hardly fail to leave some traces. Thus the
first scene of Marion Delorme recalls in a fashion the story
of Gramont's nocturnal visit to that lady, while Wetzel's
Rache fur Rache 2 has something of the Hobart-Temple-
Rochester intrigue in it. Dorat dramatized certain parts
of the Memoirs, viz. in Le chevalier frangais a Londres and
Le chevalier fran$ais a Turin, 3 and to these may be added
the opera comique, L' habit du Chevalier de Grammont, by
J. M. B. Bins de Saint- Victor 4 and the vaudeville Made-
moiselle Hamilton. 6 In England nobody read and knew
the Memoirs as Walpole did ; 6 some of his portraits in the
Memoirs of the Reign of George III are not without showing
a certain influence of the Memoir es de Grammont. But
the author who inspired himself most directly from them
who, in a measure, discovered the secret of Hamilton's
charm was Thackeray. It is a pity that he never took the
trouble to write at length on the Memoirs, for nobody else
could have done them full justice. 7 We know that the
Marchioness of Esmond had a hundred pretty stories about
Rochester, Henry Jermyn and Hamilton, and we wish that
she had told us something about the last of these three,
always a more or less enigmatic personage.
There can be no doubt that Hamilton's work had a curious
1 There is another slight resemblance between " Suisse de nation, em-
poisonneur de profession et voleur par habitude " and V. Hugo's " Prussien
de hasard, Suisse de metier, Francais de coeur." (Le Rhin, I, p. 135, (Euvres
completes, edition definitive, Paris, 1884).
1 Leipzig, 1778.
3 Paris, 1779.
* Published anonymously in Paris, 1804 (cf. Barbier).
6 Mentioned by J. B. Champagnac in the introduction to his edition of
Hamilton's works. I have not been able to discover anything further
about it. It may be mentioned in this connexion that the Abbe de Voisenon
dramatized Hamilton's tale Fleur d'Epine ((Euvres, Vol. II), and that
Beaumarchais undoubtedly named his hero in the opera Tarare after
Hamilton's Tarare in Fleur d'Epine.
6 Cf. R. Clark, Walpole and the Memoires de Grammont, Modern
Language Review, Vol. X, Jan., 1915.
7 Cf . an excellent article on the Memoirs in the Saturday Review,
Nov., 1888.
226 ANTHONY HAMILTON
kind of subtle influence in France. It was very much read.
It was just the book to appeal to a certain class of grands
seigneurs. It was written by one of themselves. It was
written about one who resembled them strangely. For
Gramont was slightly ahead of his times, he is the type of
the nobleman as the eighteenth century knew him with
his elegant and trifling licentiousness. If his barefaced
impudence and light-hearted immorality amazed some of
his fellow-courtiers, the roue's of the next generation were
in no wise moved to astonishment. The decorum of Ver-
sailles was gone. The scenes depicted by Hamilton had
nothing unfamiliar, for the corruption of the Stuart court
was akin to the profligacy of the Regency. Well might
Chamfort describe the Memoirs as the breviary of the
young nobles. 1 The brilliant and irresistible chevalier was
a model to be imitated. His graceful depravity lacked no
admirers. The Marechal de Richelieu and the Prince de
Ligne 2 recognized in him a kindred spirit. He became the
prototype of the Valmonts and Faublas. His Memoirs pre-
pared the way for those of Lauzun and Tilly. And there
were doubtless not a few who would in all good faith have
said with Voisenon of the Memoires de Grammont, " Get
ouvrage est a la tete de ceux qu'il faut relire regulierement
tous les ans." 3
In the eighteenth century no one recalls Gramont more
than the Mardchal de Richelieu ; the latter was, however,
by far the most brilliant of the two. Like Gramont Richelieu
had his poet, like Gramont he found his biographer, but he
is not known to posterity as Gramont is, for Soulavie is
not Hamilton, even though Voltaire is incomparably more
than Saint-Evremond.
Cond6 may come to life again
And Turenne nature can restore,
But Gramont we expect in vain,
On him she lavished all her store.
These lines of Saint-Evremond's the English translator
of the Memoirs inscribed on the title-page of his book. As
1 (Euvres completes (Paris, 1824-1825, 5 vols.), Ill, p. 247.
* The writings of the Prince de Ligne show more than one example of
Hamilton's antithetical style and his jeux d' esprit carried to an excess.
3 (Euvres (Paris, 1781, 5 vols.), IV, p. 129. " C'est 14 un conseil qui
vaut mieux qu'on ne 1'attendrait de Voisenon," says Sainte-Beuve.
(Causerics du Lundi, I, p. 81.)
THE MfiMOIRES DE GRAMMONT 227
a matter of fact Gramont has come to life again and more
than once, but the man who did not reappear was his
biographer. The Memoires de Grammont have remained
unique in their kind, and their originality is made all the
more apparent through the absence of any model and the
inadequacy of all imitations.
The Memoirs were, of course, translated into English as
soon as they appeared. 1714 saw the translation of Boyer,
who flattered himself that he had bestowed " no incon-
siderable Present on the Genteel and the Polite." His
' present ' would have been more ' considerable ' if his
translation had been less slovenly and more correct. 1 He
cautiously avoided giving proper names in most cases,
only indicating them by initials, and the next year there-
fore a key at the price of 2d. was issued. This key was
added to the second edition which appeared in 1719.2 An
edition which appeared in 1760 was based on Boyer's text,
but considerably touched up in places. The quarto edition
of 1793 is the third translation. It was revised in 1809,
again in 1811, by Sir Walter Scott, it would seem, in 1889
by the late Henry Vizetelly and has come to be the com-
monly accepted version.
The first known German translation appeared in 1745,
others followed in 1780, 1806, 1853 and 1911.
An Italian translation appeared at Milan in 1814.
The Memoires de Grammont are preceded by Zeneyde,
a fragment of a short historical novel, and probably also
by L'Enchanteur Faustus, a fantastic tale in which historical
personages are made to appear.
1 It is full of the most absurd mistakes, e.g. : ' Upon this Matta fell to
grumbling ' (p. 49) for ' Matta se laissa gronder ' ; ' an ounce of her hair '
(p. 196) for ' une aune de ses cheveux ' ; ' the felicity I found in making the
tenderest declarations ' (p. 349) for ' la facilite de lui faire les plus tendres
declarations.' Very often, too, Boyer makes deliberate additions, the most
striking being in the translation of the following passage : " Le Roi qui
ne se crut pas oblige de lui faire du bien parce que Madame de Cleveland
lui en voulait beaucoup, lui fit defendre de paraitre a la cour," which
Boyer renders as "the King did not think my Lady C 's kindness to
him a sufficient recommendation in his own favour, and some time after,
Mr. Churchill being surprised in the Duchess's bed-chamber, was obliged
to flee for it into France."
2 A writer in the Gentleman's Magazine for April, 1896, states, without
giving any authority, that the sale of the Memoirs was strictly prohibited
in England. If this had been the case the second edition would hardly
have appeared as soon as 1719.
228 ANTHONY HAMILTON
Zeneyde takes the form of a letter to 'Madame de P.,'
and the beginning of this letter contains the memorable
description of the court of St. Germain quoted elsewhere.
Hamilton, having fled a widow desirous of a pension and
on the look-out for some one who knows a person who
knows a lady who is willing to confess herself a friend of
the favourite-in-chief, is seen wandering along the banks
of the Seine, and from the river there appears to him a
nymph who favours him with the story of her life or rather
with part of the story, as it is left incomplete. We are
taken back to the fifth century A.D., and we are told how
Pharamond, first King of France, helps Rosamond, wife of
Gondioc, King of the Burgundians, to avenge the death of
her first husband on the Romans, and how he kills Gondioc,
in order to wed Rosamond ; how Pharamond's son Chlodion,
refusing the advances of his stepmother, imprisons her after
his father's death and ascends the throne of France ; how
there comes to his court a young stranger, M^roue*, the son
of Gertrude, whom he had once loved, how M^roue* wins
Chlodion's affections and is made king after his death in
the place of his son ; how Chlodion's widow puts herself
under the protection of the Roman general, ^Etius, who
adopts her daughter and marries her to the Senator Maxi-
mus ; how the young wife of Maximus falls into the hands
of the Emperor Valentinian and commits suicide ; how
Maximus becomes emperor and marries Valentinian's
widow, Eudoxia, and how his daughter Zeneyde, the
nymph who tells this story, is betrothed to M&roue*'s son
Childeric, but is carried away by the invader Genseric.
The story is rapidly told ; even if Hamilton had com-
pleted it, it would not have extended over more than one
hundred and fifty pages, for the twelve-volumed novels are
irrevocably a thing of the past ; it contains a certain number
of historical facts along with reminiscences of La Cal-
prenede's Pharamond and episodes in the style of the
conte de fes ; it is probably the least successful thing
Hamilton ever wrote ; the treatment of the subject is not
a happy one. As a rule Hamilton attacks only the lighter
side of life ; here he has chosen one of the most sombre
pages of legend and history ; he attempts to be serious and
is only dull, the unwonted gravity becomes irksome, and
from time to time he lapses into his usual manner, which,
needless to say, is here quite out of place, and the frivolous
THE MfiMOIRES DE GRAMMONT 229
setting with its interludes of nymphs and attendant maidens
causes this story of the early Merovingians to be pervaded
with a subtle atmosphere of Versailles and Trianon.
L'Enchanteur Faustus takes us back to the court of
Queen Elizabeth. The Queen, in the presence of Sidney
and Essex, receives the magician and commands him to
bring some of the famous beauties of the past before her.
Helen of Troy, Mariamne and Cleopatra are successively
made to appear, but find little favour in the sight of the
Queen and her courtiers. An English beauty, fair Rosa-
mond, is therefore next chosen, and Sidney rapidly recounts
her story 1 to the Queen whose ' great occupations ' have
effaced it from her memory. Rosamond appears and
vanishes, and the Queen, who has been told that Rosamond's
beauty has a faint resemblance to her own, is so charmed
with her that she commands Faustus to bring her once
more into her presence. Though Faustus demurs, he has
to obey ; after a great many grotesque contorsions on his
part Rosamond reappears ; the Queen, forgetting the
silence imposed on her, welcomes the apparition. Faustus
is thrown to the ground, the palace is shaken in its founda-
tions, a dense smoke fills the apartment, flashes of lightning
illumine the darkness. And the Countess of Salisbury, who
was to appear next, was not sent for on that day.
One wonders how Hamilton became acquainted with
the Faust traditions ; it must have been either through
Marlowe's play or through the English or French version
of Spies's Faust book ; the last named in all probability,
viz. Palma Cayet's translation, the Histoire prodigieuse et
lamentable de Jean Fauste, which went through about four-
teen editions between 1598 and 1712. 2 The minuteness
with which the apparitions are described in Hamilton's
tale recalls the corresponding passages of the Faust book.
But we have travelled far since the days of the History
of the Damnable Life and Deserved Death of Dr. John
Faustus ; an elegant badinage has taken the place of the
simple narrative, and since Hamilton and his readers belong
to that age of transition which no longer believes in Faust
but has not yet come to see any deeper meaning in the
1 With some inexactitudes.
1 Engel, Zusammenstellung der Faust Schriften, pp. iio-m.
230 ANTHONY HAMILTON
legend of his life, 1 Faust becomes a burlesque figure and,
indeed, to Hamilton the persons of Queen Elizabeth and
her obsequious courtiers are far more important ; they and
not Faustus occupy the foreground. They are drawn with
the same light satirical touch that was to come to its per-
fection in the Memoires de Grammont.
For us the chief interest in Hamilton's tale lies in the
fact that it furnished some suggestions to Goethe for his
evocation of Helena before the Emperor. 2 There is the
same violent ending to the scene, Helena being approached
by Faust, though in this case there is a violent explosion
and Faust is seen lying on the ground. The comments of
the courtiers are not at all unlike those of Elizabeth and her
favourites. 8 In the Volksbuch the emperor and the students
are ' with gazing most content/ in Marlowe's play the
emperor is more pleased in the sights that Faustus procures
him than if he had gained another monarchy, and the
scholars who have been permitted to see Helena, depart
calling down blessings on the learned doctor. But Hamilton
makes the Queen and the noblemen disdainful critics, and
Goethe follows along his lines, assigning unfavourable
criticism on Helena to the ladies and on Paris to the courtiers.
Hamilton's Faust does not bring about the evocation of
Mariamne in the same way as that of Helena, because the
former ' had known the true God.' This differentiation
seems to have suggested the refusal of Mephistopheles to
evoke Helena, his power, he confesses, not extending as
far as the 'heathen/ 4
1 In 1789 an editor of Hamilton's Faustus describes the old Faust book
as a " conte ridicule, monument rare et curieux de 1'ignorance et de la
credulite du seizieme siecle." " L'Enchanteur Faustus," he says, " si
celebre chez nos peres, est maintenant absolument ignore ; a peine la
tradition a-t-elle transmis a quelques personnes le nom de ce fameux
magicien et sa fin si deplorable ; il en est tres peu qui aient lu 1'histoire de
sa vie." (Voyages Imaginaires, XXXV, pp. vii and ix.)
* Faust II, Act I. Rittersaal. Cf. Duntzer, Hamilton's. Erzahlung
L'Enchanteur Faustus, Blatter fur literarische Unterhaltung, 1 864, pp. 809-
812. In the same article Duntzer claims that Goethe's Marchen at the end
of the Unterhaltungen deutscher Ausgewanderten shows the influence of
Hamilton's Belier. To us the influence is hardly discernible. We are more
inclined to agree with him in his suggestion that the starlings who call out
' Paris, Paris ' and ' Narciss, Narciss ' (in der neue Paris) are reminiscences
of the crows that call out ' Tarare ' in Fleur d'Epine.
8 Cf. e.g. " dans aucun siecle il n'a 6te permis d'avoir les pieds tournes
comme elle " (Hamilton, II, p. 485) and " Seht nur den Fuss, wie konnt
er plumper sein " (Faust II, Act I, line 1891).
4 Faust II, Act I, lines 1597-1599,
CHAPTER III
THE TALES
"^ ES CONTES DE FEES," writes the Count de
Caylus 1 near the end of his career, " ont ete long-
temps a la mode et dans ma jeunesse on ne lisoit
^ gueres que cela dans le monde." 2 Even before
the day of Caylus the fairy-tale had become fashionable ;
Madame de Sevigne mentions the new ' divertissement ' in
1677. 3 But it was not until Perrault wrote down a number
of popular fairy-tales, old as the sun, and published them
from 1691 to 1697* that there sprang up a whole literature
of such stories. The world was suddenly peopled with
giants, dwarfs, fairies good and bad, with countless prin-
cesses Ravissante, Brillante, Merveilleuse, Gracieuse,
Finette, Fleur d'Amour, Belle de Nuit, with princes equally
numerous, Charmant, Avenant, Engageant, Sans-Pair,
Bel-a-Voir, Bel-Esprit, Langue d'or, to name only a few of
them. Perrault 's Tales were rapidly followed by those of
Mademoiselle L'Heritier, Madame d'Aulnoy, Madame d'Au-
neuil, Madame de Murat, Mademoiselle de La Force, by
those of the Sieurs Lesconvel, de Preschac and others.
Of Perrault's imitators Madame d'Aulnoy was the best ;
most of her tales are based on popular traditions, 5 but they
are far from having the naivete and the artlessness of the
Conies de ma Mere VOye. Very few popular traditions can
be recognized in the tales of the other writers mentioned ;
they are in most cases pure inventions and lack the perennial
1 1692-1765.
2 Preface to Cadichon (Cabinet des Fees, Vol. 25, p. 379).
3 Sevigne, Lettres, V, pp. 259-260. " Madame de Coulanges . . .
voulut bien nous faire part des contes avec quoi Ton amuse les dames de
Versailles ; cela s'appelle les mitonner. Elle nous mitonna done et nous
parla d'une lie verte, ou Ton elevoit une princesse plus belle que le jour ;
c'etoient les fees qui soufflaient sur elle a tout moment. . . . Le prince des
delices etait son amant."
4 Cf. Lang, Perrault' s Popular Tales, pp. xix-xxvii.
5 Grimm, Kinder und Haiismarchen (Berlin, 1819-1822), III, p. 381.
231
232 ANTHONY HAMILTON
charm of the tales young d'Armancour was supposed to
have written.
Critics were not wanting. In 1699 the Abbe de Villiers
wrote an Entretien severely censuring the Contes de Fees ;
Madame de Maintenon, asking for advice on what her
charges of Saint-Cyr were to read, remarked that she wanted
no Fairy Tales or Peau d'Ane j 1 the friends of Madame du
Maine and the Soupers du Temple despised ' ces petites
lectures/ 2 and an habitue* of those sceptical societies took
upon himself to ridicule the literature of the day, so un-
worthy, according to him, of the great novels that had
charmed their readers in the past and of the tale that
Fenelon had but lately given to the world.
Les Contes ont eu, pour un temps,
Des lecteurs et des partisans ;
La cour mfime en devint avide,
Et les plus c616bres romans,
Pour les moeurs et les sentiments,
Depuis Cyrus jusqu'a Zaide,
Ont vu languir leurs ornements,
Et cette lecture insipide
L'emporter sur leurs agrements.
En vain des bords fameux d'lthaque,
Le sage et renomm6 Mentor
Vint nous enrichir du tresor
Que renferme son Telemaque ; . . .
La vogue qu'il cut dura peu ;
Et, las de ne pouvoir comprendre
Les mystdres qu'il met en jeu,
On courut au Palais le rendre
Et Ton s'empressa de reprendre
Le Rameau d'or et 1'Oiseau bleu.*
Hamilton therefore, for he, of course, is the critic in question,
set himself to accomplish for the fairy-tale what Cervantes
had accomplished for the tales of chivalry ; he wrote a
fairy-tale in 1705* that was to show up the dullness of the
x Cf . Geffroy, Madame de Maintenon d'aprts sa Correspondance, II, p. 322.
1 Cabinet des Fees, Vol. 37, p. 38 (Discours sur 1'Origine des Contes
de Fees).
* (Euvres, II, p. 258.
4 Le Belie* was written before Sept., 1705, probably in the early summer
of 1705. The letter to Henrietta Bulkeley in which Le Btlier is first men-
tioned ((Euvres, III, pp. 154-156) is unfortunately only dated Sept. ist,
but the preceding letter which belongs to the same series and is dated
August 1 2th can be identified through the allusions to the fete de Chatenay
of August, 1705. It cannot have been written earlier than May, 1703, for
this is the date of the gift of Pontalie, and we know that Hamilton wrote
Le Belier to explain the name of Pontalie.
THE TALES 233
Rameau d'or and the Oiseau bleu ; he named it Le Belier,
presumably because Madame d'Aulnoy had written a tale
called Le Mouton ; " je fourrai dans cet ouvrage," he tells
us, " ce que le vain etalage des Contes a de plus imperti-
nent." 1 A few years later he wrote two tales to ridicule
the vogue of the Arabian Nights. None of these satires
were printed before 1730, but they circulated in manuscript
among his friends and exercised a certain influence before
and a very marked influence after they appeared in print
on the Conte of the eighteenth century.
Koerting 2 divides the French novels of the seventeenth
century into idealistic and realistic (satirical) novels ; the
Astree, though belonging to the first type, contains, as he
shows us, the germ of the second : Hylas, the inconstant
swain, mocks at the true love of the shepherds and shep-
herdesses, and the antagonism existing between Celadon and
Hylas stretches far down the century. On the one hand
we have Polexandre, Cassandre and le Grand Cyrus, on
the other the Berger extravagant, the Roman comique and
the Roman bourgeois. Now though this classification is
not without its difficulties, it may very roughly be applied
to the Conte de Fees and the fantastic tale of the late seven-
teenth century and of the eighteenth. First we have
Perrault's tales, with delightful touches of realism, told with
a kind of simple gravity that spoke for the author's sincerity,
and sober enough for did not Mickiewicz accuse Perrault
of rationalizing the fairy-tale ? then Madame d'Aulnoy and
her group, anxious to please, overdressed, powdered and
beribboned, followed at length by Hamilton and his satirical
tales which open up a second stream parallel to the first.
Voltaire, always favourably inclined to Hamilton, is not
altogether mistaken when, somewhat forgetful of Le Sage,
he describes our author as " le premier qui ait fait des
romans dans un gout plaisant qui n'est pas le burlesque de
Scarron." 3 At the same time one is occasionally reminded
of the seventeenth-century satirical novel-writers ; is not
Hamilton's avowed intention of placing in his tales " ce
que le vain etalage des contes a de plus impertinent " like
a far-off echo from Sorel's Berger extravagant " ou parmy
1 (Euvres II, p. 259.
2 In his Geschichte des franzdsischen Romans.
9 (Euvres, XIV (Sicle de Louis XIV), p. 78.
234 ANTHONY HAMILTON
des Fantaisies amoureuses on voit les impertinences des
romans et de la poesie " ?
From Hamilton spring a certain number of conteurs,
Voisenon, Crebillon, Diderot and in a measure Voltaire,
to mention only the chief of them, conteurs who, fastening
on his parody of the Arabian Nights, produce a kind of
half-burlesque, half-satirical tale, Oriental in most cases,
the soi-disant exotic customs depicted affording a con-
venient pretext for the crudest colours : in Hamilton's
Quatre Facardins lies the germ of the conte licencieux. 1
At the same time the first stream is continued, though
more than once it is on the point of ceasing. The tales
belonging to this class are marked by growing pedagogical
preoccupations. Perrault, it will be remembered, had
added a kind of moralite to each of his Contes de Fe*es. 2
The influence of Fenelon writing a moral tale for the Dauphin
Due de Bourgogne began to make itself felt. The stories of
Madame d'Aulnoy and of her women contemporaries were
supposed to be beneficial to juvenile readers. " Tout
devient instruction quand on en s^ait faire un bon usage/'
remarks half apologetically one of Mademoiselle de Lussan's
characters who is about to relate a tale. 3 Moncrif writes
to show us fidelity rewarded, modesty recompensed and
the kind-hearted plain maiden, enjoying greater happiness
than her attractive but frivolous sisters. The sub-title of
his Don des Fees is le Pouvoir de 1'Education. 4 Madame
de Lintot's attitude is best expressed by that of an old
woman in Timandre et Bleuette, " Cette bonne femme
disoit qu'il falloit instruire la jeunesse en 1'amusant." 6 Even
the Comte de Caylus and we know that some of his tales
have been sent to the Enfer of the Bibliotheque Nationale,
1 It is not altogether insignificant that a descendant of Cristalline la
Curieuse should appear in A h, quel Conte I (Cr6billon fils, (Euvres completes,
1779. Vol. IV, pp. 357, 389, etc.) or that Voltaire, mentioning the tales
read by the Princess of Babylon, should group the Quatre Facardins with
La Paysanne Parvenue, Tansai, and A h, quel Conte ! ((Euvres, XXI, p. 407).
The eighteenth century (Voltaire, Crebillon fils, Wieland) appears to have
preferred the Quatre Facardins, whereas Fleur d'Epine, which may have
seemed too anodyne to the eighteenth century, is often preferred by later
critics (La Harpe, Sayous, Mont6gut, Lescure, etc.).
* Cf. his Dedicace a Mademoiselle, " Us renferment tous une morale tres
sensee, et qui se decouvre plus ou moins selon le degre de penetration de
ceux qui lisent."
8 VeilUes de Thessalie (Paris, 1731), II, p. 3.
* Cabinet des Fees, Vols. 25 and 32.
* Ib., Vol. 32, p. 167.
THE TALES 235
we have heard of the publications of the Societe du Bout
du Bane even Caylus protests that his object has always
been in the words of Montaigne, " emmieller la viande
salubre a 1'enfant." 1 With Madame Leprince de Beaumont
we are not far from the Encyclopedic and the reign of
reason, the allegory is rigid, the moralite appears on the
surface, the fairies are conscientious governesses and the
genii act the part of severe and just tutors. 2
To return to Hamilton and Le Belier. The reader is
introduced to a druid, a prince of the house of the Merovin-
gians and to his beautiful daughter Alie. Many aspire to
Alie's hand, but in vain, and a hideous ignorant giant,
le Moulineau, is naturally refused with scorn. The enraged
giant sets fire to the castle walls, the druid, however, sur-
rounds his castle with a river and thinks himself in safety
when the giant retaliates by throwing a bridge across the
river. Amazed, the druid goes to consult his books and
finds that the most precious volume is missing.
He demands an explanation of Poison, a little gnome,
for Poingon often attends Alie, and the druid suspects Alie
of having tampered with the forbidden books. The gnome
bids the druid remember that he once charged him to go
and wander about in the grounds of the palace of Noisy,
in order, as the gnome now realizes, to bring the Prince de
Noisy into the druid's power. He assumed the shape of a
deer on that occasion and happened to meet the prince,
who, charmed, followed him back into the druid's domains
and there beheld Alie. Alie and the prince fell in love with
each other, and Alie knowing her father's hatred of the
prince and thinking that they might find some remedy in
his magic books allowed her lover to carry off one of them.
He never returned, and Alie is now in despair.
Meanwhile the attacking giant, counselled by a wonder-
ful ram, has withdrawn. The ram advises him to send a
messenger next day to the druid, to offer peace on con-
dition that Alie with her own hands will gild the ram's
horns and hoofs with a certain liquid gold. He, the ram,
1 Ib., Vol. 25, p. 382, and cf. Vol. 24, p. 201. " Mais comme elle vouloit
etre parfaite, elle s'instruisoit aussi de tous les contes de fees qu'elle pouvoit
apprendre."
8 Cf . an article by Montegut, Des Fees et de leur Litterature en France,
Revue des deux Mondes, April, 1862,
236 ANTHONY HAMILTON
being thus allowed to enter, will kill the druid and open
the gates to the giant. The plan is carried out. The mes-
senger arrives just when the druid has finished telling the
story of his life to Alie. His greatest enemy, according to
his account, is Merlin, but Merlin has a great enemy in the
Lady of the Sheaths, whose magic knife, a knife that writes
oracular answers, Merlin has stolen. Unbeknown to the
Lady the knife is now in the druid's possession. The
druid thinks that the ram is none other than Merlin him-
self, and he has reason to believe that the ram has done
away with the Prince de Noisy. Moreover, if Merlin can
possess himself of Alie's cradle, much harm will be done,
but fortunately the cradle has been lowered into a deep
fountain.
The 'druid accepts the messenger's proposition with joy,
gives Alie the magic knife and tells her to cut off a handful
of the ram's wool ; if it is Merlin, he is bound to assume
his original shape and Alie will have time to plunge
the knife into his heart. Unfortunately, Alie reverses the
order of the operations and the expiring victim turns out
to be her lover, the Prince de Noisy. The corpse is placed
beside the fountain of the cradle and Alie is shut up in one
of the palace rooms. But she breaks away from her atten-
dants, wanders out beyond the grounds, where the giant
lays hold of her and transports her to his palace. The
druid has forgotten all about his daughter, for, hurrying
back to pick up the bloody knife, he discovers that it has
been tracing some words in an unknown language which he
tries in vain to understand. Giving up his endeavours at
last, he finds Alie gone and at the fountain Poingon con-
fesses that a noble stranger counselled him to wash the
corpse and that when he plunged the prince into the water,
the corpse vanished, the cradle rose to the surface and
the stranger bore it away.
The Lady of the Sheaths suddenly appears, interprets
the writing, tells the story of her life and also explains that
the Prince de Noisy is Merlin's son and that by means of
the knife he can be brought to life again. Only the knife
has been shut up in a statue and the ring that will open
the statue has been lent to Alie for the ram's execution.
Alie has meanwhile escaped from the giant, by means of
the ring, and wanders into Merlin's garden just as he is
going to burn the corpse of the prince, his son, together with
THE TALES 237
the cradle. The druid and the Lady of the Sheaths suddenly
join her, Poison is despatched with the ring to get the
knife. The prince recovers and explains that having used
the druid's books imprudently, he was changed into a ram
and fell into the giant's power, but learned that the druid's
liquid gold would restore him to his former shape. He is
united to Alie, overthrows the giant, and the Lady of the
Sheaths regains possession of her knife.
Besides the main plot and the autobiographies of the
various personages Le Belier contains another practically
independent tale. The ram used to amuse the giant by
telling him stories, and thus, one day, he relates the adven-
tures of Pertharite and Ferandine.
From the preceding summary some idea will be gained
of the complexity and wilful incoherence of the tale ; the
narrative is constantly and unnecessarily interrupted ; at
the most critical moment of the action some one is sure
to relate a tale or to indulge in some detailed autobio-
graphical reminiscences, or we are made to go far back
to take up the thread of some preceding adventures. And
since the worthy Mabillon 1 is made responsible for the
story, Hamilton is at liberty to find fault with " the author
of these memoirs," he condoles with the reader from behind
the scenes, accompanies the tale with ironical comments
that remind one of Scarron's and Furetiere's asides to the
public, asks the reader how certain parts affect him, takes
a malicious pleasure in making him observe that the tale
is developing along the approved lines and now and then
disillusions him without pity. The druid surrounds his
castle with a river wider than the stretch from Pontus till
beyond Bavaria ? The ram flings a mighty bridge across
the river ? Never believe it, " il est bon de vous avertir
qu'a 1'egard de la largeur de la riviere et de la longueur du
pont Ton vous a menti de sept ou huit cent lieues, tant
pour la rarete du fait que pour la commodite des rimes." 2
You believed that le Moulineau was a great big giant ?
1 Le Belier was written and circulated in manuscript in the lifetime of
Mabillon, but the learned author of the Annales and the A eta Sanctorum
ordinis Sancti Benedicti probably never heard of the extraordinary
' memoirs ' which went under his name. The Hamiltons seem to have
known him slightly ; on one occasion George Hamilton brought him and
Dom Luc d'Ach6ry a manuscript life of St. Swithin from Williamson.
(R.O. State Papers, Foreign, France, 131, f. 62.)
8 (Euvres, II, p. 133. The beginning of Le Belier is in verse.
238 ANTHONY HAMILTON
He was only twice as tall and as foolish as our friend B.
The giant and the ram were going to burn down the druid's
castle ? Alie was terrified by their mighty preparations ?
Ah yes, but these were only visions of poetry. And so on.
The ram, as we have seen, entertains the giant by telling
him stories, and though the giant is made to interrupt in
the most absurd fashion, his remarks are not so bereft of
common sense as it would first seem. Not one of them
but contains a well-directed sally against the much-despised
conte. Unwillingness to understand a tale that does not
begin at the beginning, impatience at the constant change
of narrative from one intrigue to the other, inability to
connect some sudden and unmotivated event with the main
plot, wonder at the caprices and humours of the various
characters, joy at the sudden reappearance of a personage
long left behind in the narrative, disgust caused by an
ever-recurring motif, weariness brought on by the length of
the tale, 1 all this is in keeping with the giant's slow and
limited intelligence, but behind it all there is the charge
made against the weakness and the artificiality of the
conte.
We have neglected one aspect of the tale. Hamilton, it
will be remembered, had been requested by some of his
sister's friends to explain the new name of the property she
inhabited, why was it now called Pontalie instead of les
Moulineaux ? And one of the objects of this tale was to
satisfy their questions. Like all Hamilton's stories it is full of
personal allusions. The publisher of the first edition assures
us that it contains " mille petits faits d^guisez," and though
he comforts one with the promise that even if one is un-
1 Ib. t pp. 153, 157, 164, 167, 168, 188, 194, 203, etc. Note especially
the well-known passage on p. 153 : " Le Belier apres avoir un peu rfivl,
commenca de cette manidre : ' Depuis les blessures du renard blanc, la
reine n'avoit pas manqu6 d'aller tous les jours lui rendre visite. " Belier,
mon ami," lui dit le geant, en I'mterrompant, " je ne comprends rien a tout
cela. Si tu voulois bien commencer par le commencement, tu me ferois
plaisir ; car tous ces recits qui commencent par le milieu ne font que
m'embrouiller I'imagination." " Eh bien," dit le Belier, " je consens, centre
la coutume, mettre chaque chose 4 sa place : ainsi le commencement de
mon histoire sera la tte de mon recit." ' " And on p. 168, where the ram
proposes to leave a princess and her adventure in order to take up some
other thread of the narrative : '"Si cela est,' dit le seigneur Moulineau, ' je
compte que je ne la reverrai plus, ni son renard blanc, car tu ne fais que
tarabuster mon attention d'un endroit , 1'autre. N'y auroit-il pas moyen
de rinir ce qui les regarde avant que d'aller courir aprds une autre aventure ?'
' Cela ne se peut,' repondit le Belier."
THE TALES 239
successful in fathoming these mysteries the tale will be none
the less enjoyable, yet one cannot help wishing for a key
like the one which Cousin found for the Grand Cyrus among
the manuscripts of the Bibliotheque de r Arsenal. Alie,
we imagine, is Henrietta Bulkeley ; x Ferandine, the Prin-
cesse de Conti ; 2 the Belier, Hamilton himself, 3 the giant
who winter and summer puts on his boots to go to bed,
' our friend B.' ; the various apartments and walks described
were doubtless familiar to the visitors of Pontalie, the
druid prophesies the coming of a Count Philibert, 4 and
so on.
To-day the curious would look in vain for Pontalie;
after the death of Madame de Gramont the property passed
into other hands ; it resumed its old name and the traditions
with which Hamilton endowed it are known to the biblio-
phile alone.
In 1704 there appeared the first volumes of a work that
was to exercise considerable influence on the French litera-
ture of the eighteenth century, namely, Galland's translation
of the Arabian Nights. For the last few years, as we have
seen, the public had been reading fairy-tales and little else
but fairy-tales. A feeling of lassitude had followed on the
first enthusiasm. In 1702 the Abbe Bellegarde wrote,
though with some exaggeration, " La cour s'est laissee
infatuer de ces sottises, la ville a suivi le mauvais exemple,
de la cour et a lu avec avidite ces aventures monstrueuses,
mais enfin on est revenu de cette frenesie." 6
Galland, however, brought something so new, so fresh
and so utterly different from the stereotyped fairy-tale
that the readers were delighted. 6 They were quite at one
CEuvres, II, pp. 152, 213.
Ib., p. 173.
Cf. ib., Vol. Ill, pp. 328, 336, 369.
Ib., Vol. II, p. 28.
Quoted in Petit de Julleville, Histoire de la Literature Franpaise, VI,
P- 477-
6 Cf. the Preface to the Nouveaux Conies Orientaux by the Comte de
Caylus (Cabinet des Fies, Vol. XXV). " Vous aimiez assez les Contes
Orientaux, pour avoir souvent pris leur parti. . . . Cependant il faut
convenir que 1'on ne peut etre sensible a ce delassement de 1'esprit
qu'aprds etre pour ainsi dire blaze sur les romans et sur les petites histoires
fran9aises, celles-ci ont ordinairement une intrigue, un plan, un objet qui
se developpe avec ordre, mais 1'habitude ou nous sommes de les lire nous
fait trop aisement prevoir leur denouement ; au lieu que les histoires
240 ANTHONY HAMILTON
with the translator when he remarked of Scheherazade's
stories that one had but to read them in order to become
convinced that never had there been seen anything so good
in any language in this order of writings. 1 Six volumes
appeared in 1704, a seventh in 1706, an eighth in 1709 ; the
ninth and tenth followed in 1712, the eleventh and twelfth
in 1717, two years after Galland's death. 2 Meanwhile, in
1704, D'Alegre published a new translation of the Gulistan
of Sadi, 3 in 1707 Petis de la Croix brought out some
' Turkish ' tales, Histoire de la Sultane de Perse et des
Visirs, and from 1710 to 1712 his five volumes of the Mille
et un Jours, Contes Persans traduits en Franois. Besides
these translations there now began to appear countless
volumes of imitations and pseudo-translations : in 1712
and 1714 the Adventures of AbdaUah, son of Hanif, ' trans-
lated from an Arabian manuscript ' by the Abbe Bignon ;
in 1715 Gueullette's Mille et un Quarts d'heure, Contes
Tartares, to mention only two of the earliest of these ' pas-
tiches ' which helped to discredit the Arabian Nights in
the eyes of those who could not or would not distinguish
the original from the imitations. In this way the Journal
Litter air e for 1715 groups the Mille et une Nuits, the Mille
et un Jours with other less happy efforts and condemns
one and all as ' fadaises/ as ' livres de bagatelles et de
niaiseries.' 4 ' Fadaises ' these imitations might certainly
be called, this " branchlet of literature, the most vapid,
frigid and insipid that can be imagined by man a bastard
Europeo-Oriental, pseudo-Eastern world of Western mari-
orientales n'ont souvent qu'un seul objet dont 1'effet est d'exciter la
surprise en voyant que les plus petits incidents amenent lea plus grandes
revolutions. C'est en cela que consiste presque tout leur attrait, le style
contribue aussi a leur agrement ; il se sent de la chaleur du climat qui
produit une singularity piquante pour les lecteurs de 1'Europe."
1 Galland, Mille et une Nuits, I, Avertissement.
* Chauvin, Bibliographic des Ouvrages Arabes, IV, pp. 25-26.
8 Gulistan ou le Jardin des Roses, traduit du Persan de Sadi. A French
translation had already appeared in 1634.
4 Journal Litteraire de V Annie 1715 (La Haye, 3* ed. 1738), p. 203.
Montesquieu, however, was among the admirers of the Arabian Nights.
" Les gens senses," writes the Comte de Caylus, " qui savent apprecier les
choses ne proscrivent jamais ce genre et s'il fallait une autorite respectable,
je dirois que M. de Montesquieu se trouvant faute d'autres livres necessite
a lire les Mille et une Nuits, y trouva tant d'attrait, que je lui ai entendu
dire, plus d'une fois qu'il se felicitoit d'avoir fait connaissance avec les
Conteurs Arabes et qu'il en relisoit volontiers quelque chose tous les ans.
(Preface to Cadichon, Cabinet des Fees, Vol. 25, pp. 387-388.)
THE TALES 241
onettes, garbed in the gear which Asiatics are (or were)
supposed to wear, with sentiments, opinions, manners and
morals to match ; the whole utterly lacking life, local
colour, vraisemblance, human interest." 1
Hamilton, too, viewed this " inondation subite de
calif es et de sultans," as he called it, 2 with a hostile eye. It
has sometimes been stated 3 that what he disliked and
criticized was not the great masterpiece of Eastern litera-
ture, but the parasitical growths that sprang from it. From
the very first, however, when Galland's translation began to
appear, Hamilton had uncompromisingly described the
Arabian Nights as ' fatras/ 4 and what followed upon these
first volumes did not in any wise change his opinion. He
twitted the ladies at court (" avec les menagemens con-
venables pour ne pas blesser leur amour propre ") on the
avidity with which they read each succeeding instalment,
they retorted by defying him to compose something in a
similar strain, 5 and so Hamilton wrote two Eastern Tales,
first Fleur d'Epine, and then the Quatre Facardins.
Pour marquer les absurdits
De ces recits mal in vent 6s, 6
just as he had written the Belier to show up the defects
of the fairy-tale. The jaded courtier was irritated by the
naivete, the artlessness and the unconscious humour of
the Arabian Nights, he wanted something written with
' esprit/ he was unable to adopt, even for the time being,
the attitude of simple unquestioning faith which Burton, in
1 Burton's Arabian Nights, X, pp. 347-348.
2 (Euvres, II, p. 260.
8 e.g. by Sayous in his Literature franfaise a I'etranger. The due de
L6vis in the preface to his continuation of the tales goes as far as to say
that Hamilton's tales were not written against Oriental fiction but against
" nos inventions occidentales, nos romans monstrueux de chevalerie et les
grands romans qui leur ont succede," and J. B. Champagnac adopts this
theory in his edition of Hamilton's works. It is true that Hamilton has
his fling against the romans de chevalerie in the Quatre Facardins, but his
efforts are principally directed against the Oriental Tales. As for M.
Kissenberth's thesis on Hamilton (Antoine d' Hamilton, sein Leben und
seine Werke), it brings forward the extraordinary statement that Hamilton
wished to ridicule Sorel's Francion, the Roman comique and the Roman
bourgeois (p. 84).
4 (Euvres, II, p. 128, in le Belier, which he wrote in 1705, the year after
the publication of the first volumes of the Mille et une Nuits.
6 Avis du Libraire, Le Belier, 1730.
6 (Euvres, II, p. 260.
242 ANTHONY HAMILTON
our day, still found among the primitive people of the
wilderness to whom he used to read these stories. 1
It would seem as if the sudden appearance of a new
series of tales in 1710, Persian this time, the Mille et un
Jours, a series of volumes probably just as endless as the
the Mille et une Nuits, had moved Hamilton to take up his
pen to amuse his friends and himself by a parody of the
Eastern fictions. That Hamilton had read at least the
first volumes of the Mille et un Jours would seem to be
proved by the fact that his Luisante is very closely related
to the Princess Farrukhnaz of those stories. 2 The scene of
Fleur d'Epine is laid in the kingdoms of Cachemire, Cir-
cassia and Astracan ; this also suggests the influence of the
Mille et un Jours and one would therefore place the date
of Fleur d'Epine and of the Quatre Facardins between
1710 and 1715, 3 after which year, as we have seen, Hamilton
wrote little more.
1 " The Shayks and ' white beards ' of the tribe," he writes in a wonder-
fully vivid page, " gravely take their places, sitting with outspread skirts
like hillocks on the plain, as the Arabs say, around the camp fire, whilst I
reward their hospitality . . . by reading or reciting a few pages of their
favourite tales. The women and children stand motionless as silhouettes
outside the ring ; and all are breathless with attention ; they seem to
drink in the words with eyes and mouth as well as with ears. The most
fantastic flights of fancy, the wildest improbabilities, the most impossible
of impossibilities, appear to them utterly natural, mere matters of every-
day occurrence. They enter thoroughly into each phase of feeling touched
upon by the author ; they take a personal pride in the chivalrous nature
and knightly prowess of Taj al-Muluk ; they are touched with tenderness
by the self-sacrificing love of Azfzah ; their mouths water as they hear of
heaps of untold gold given away in largesse like clay by the mighty Harun
al Rashld ; they chuckle with delight every time a Kizi or Fakir (a judge
or a reverend) is scurvily treated by some Pantagruelist of the Wilderness ;
and despite their normal solemnity and impassivity all roar with laughter,
sometimes rolling upon the ground till the reader's gravity is sorely tried
at the tales of the garrulous Barber and of Ali with the Kurdish Sharper."
(Burton's Arabian Nights, I, p. xviii.) Cf. an article in the Revue britan-
nique, August, 1828, p. 325 sq.
1 In his article on Anthony Hamilton (Fortnightly Review, October,
1890), Professor Saintsbury remarks, "Another side issue may be indicated
by mentioning that the tradition of Le Sage having collaborated in Galland's
translation (a tradition for which I know no solid foundation) may possibly
by some ingenious inquirer be connected with the fact that Le Sage un-
doubtedly dramatised the subject of Hamilton's Fleur d'Epine in la
Princesse de Carizme, though the treatment is wholly independent." The
similarity between Fleur d'Epine and la Princesse de Carizme can be
explained by the fact that both authors took their subject from the Mille
et un Jours. Le Sage, as is well known, was a collaborator of Petis de la
Croix in this work.
8 Another reason for assigning to these tales a much later date than to
Ic Belier is the fact that mention is made in Fleur d'Epine of the Conte de la
THE TALES 343
A rapid summary of the two tales will show that whereas
Fleur d'Epine is characterized by a certain unity of action,
in the Quatre Facardins Hamilton has spared himself no
trouble in inventing a profusion of the most arbitrarily
connected incidents.
Fleur d'Epine. Luisante, the daughter of the caliph of
Cachemire, is so beautiful that none may behold her with
impunity. Various remedies are proposed and the seneschal
advises the caliph to send for an unknown squire who has
been with him for some time. The squire, Tarare by name,
ascertains that the enchantress Serena will take away the
murderous power of Luisante's eyes, provided the caliph
sends her four things : the portrait of Luisante ; Fleur
d'Epine, her daughter, who has been carried off by the
witch Dentue in order that she may marry Dentue's son,
Dentillon ; a hat so laden with diamonds that it shines like
the sun, and a mare covered with little golden bells that
make enchanting music wherever she goes. These last
two objects are also in Dentue's possession. Tarare under-
takes to obtain all these gifts, and first he prosaically puts
on smoked glasses and paints the portrait of the princess
who falls in love with him. Then, disguised as a goat-
herd he makes his way to Dentue's habitation. At night-
fall Dentillon goes out to the well for water and Fleur
d'Epine lights him the way with the diamond hat which only
shines when worn by a maiden. Tarare lays hold of Dentil-
Ion, a repulsive little monster, gags him, binds him hand
and foot, envelops his head in Fleur d'Epine's veils and
pushes him under the hay in Sonnante's stable. The mare's
bells have all been closed up with birdlime so Tarare and
Fleur d'Epine mount her in safety and ride away, lighted
by the diamond hat. Meanwhile Dentue has discovered
the theft, sets fire to the stable under the impression that
she is going to burn Fleur d'Epine, and mounting a unicorn
goes off in pursuit of the thief. The fugitives escape with
difficulty, but finally enter Cachemire in triumph. Fleur
d'Epine is entrusted for a night to the seneschal's widow,
and, next day, Tarare is to take her to Serena with the
other gifts. But the widow, who is in love with Tarare,
Pyr amide et du Cheval d'Or which Hamilton had written for ' Mademoiselle
O'Brien de Clare.' This young lady, whose ' charms ' are so gallantly
described in la Pyramide et le Cheval d'Or, was born in 1697, and would
thus be only thirteen years old in 1710.
244 ANTHONY HAMILTON
and a new confidant of hers, a Moorish woman, throw a spell
over Fleur d'Epine. She falls ill, is unable to accompany
Tarare, and when he returns at last with a wonderful remedy
for the eyes of the princess, Fleur d'Epine has become
so disfigured through her sufferings that he no longer
recognizes her. Overwhelmed with grief Fleur d'Epine
faints away and the wicked Moorish woman exclaims that
she is dead and must be burned at once. Just as the pyre
is about to be lighted Serena arrives on the mare Sonnante,
restores Fleur d'Epine to health and beauty, Fleur d'Epine
and Tarare are united and the Moorish woman, who is none
other than the witch Dentue, is burned. Of course there are
minor intrigues. Tarare has a twin brother Phenix, who,
having fallen into Dentue's hands, has been changed into
a parrot, and, as such, has won Luisante's affections.
Serena destroys the spell and he marries Luisante. Nor
has Luisante chosen unworthily, for Phenix and Tarare
are the sons of a king. As for Serena, she is the daughter
of the King of Mesopotamia, Fleur d'Epine is not her
daughter, but the daughter of the dethroned Queen of
Circassia, who is about to be restored to her rights again,
and Tarare thus finds himself wedded to the heiress of a
kingdom.
It is not easy to give a short argument of the Quatre
Facardins ; the intricacy of the narrative is extraordinary,
and as we have only a fragment of the Facardins we are
less able to grasp the large lines of the Tale. Moreover,
to give a dry outline is always to do Hamilton a certain
injustice, for the reader has necessarily a very imperfect
impression of what these exquisitely witty tales really are,
their special and peculiar charm lying, as Professor Saints-
bury points out, in the perpetual undercurrent of satirical
criticism of life.
I. Facardin, 1 Prince of Trebizond, 2 who tells this tale,
sets out with his secretary in quest of adventure. He
becomes acquainted with a handsome young stranger who
likewise bears the name of Facardin. At the request of
1 Facardin is not so extraordinary a name as the author would have us
believe. It is the popular spelling of the name of the celebrated emir
Fakhr ed-Din. (Cf. Bibliotheque des Carpentras, manuscript 1777, f. 120 ;
Nouvelles de Sayde . . . Prise de Vimir Facardin.)
* The emperor of Trebizond who figures in the seventh and eighth book
of the Amadis had possibly suggested the name of Trebizond. We know
that Hamilton was well read in all the Amadis stories.
THE TALES 245
Facardin of Trebizond, the handsome Facardin relates his
story and confesses that he is travelling in order to become
more worthy of Mousseline la Serieuse, Princess of Astracan.
Two adventures have befallen him so far, the adventure of
the lions* isle and the adventure of Mount Atlas. All the
lions of a certain country have been banished to an island,
but as the country is so overrun with deer, a hunt takes
place several times a year on the lions' isle ; the lions are
captured alive and let loose among the deer of the mainland.
The handsome Facardin arrives in time to take part in one
of the hunts which are organized in the following manner :
Twenty young men and maidens row in pairs to the island ;
each youth takes with him a stag, each maiden a cock.
When they land they fasten up huge nets behind which
they take their stand. The lions seeing the stags make a rush
for them, but as only one lion is wanted for each net, a
maiden causes her cock to crow suddenly by uncovering his
head, and the lions, amazed, retreat into the woods except
the foremost lion who has become entangled in the net and
is now embarked with a hunter and a huntress. The hand-
some Facardin wishes to show his courage by remaining
on the island with the last maiden and, instead of capturing
the lion in the usual way, he draws his sword, is unsuccess-
ful, the lion swallows the cock and Facardin and his maiden
are forced to return empty-handed. The maiden is in
despair, for the loss of a cock is supposed to throw grave
doubts on her virtue, and if the cock is not found again, the
maiden is buried alive. On landing she rushes away into
the mountain wilds and Facardin, following her, loses her
from sight.
He begins to climb up Mount Atlas, refuses the caresses
of an old hag, who, in return, throws a spell over him so
that all women may dislike him, he wanders through lonely
caves and splendidly furnished grottos, picks up a dainty
slipper and finds in another case the fair owner who con-
sents to be delivered by him, provided he can find a woman
ready to love him or a cock able to fly as high as an eagle
or a maiden whose foot is small enough for the slipper.
The handsome Facardin sets out to accomplish one of the
three conditions imposed and meets the Ambassadors of
Fortimbras, King of Denmark, who have been exiled from
their country until they find a man whose mouth "equals the
King's in size or a slipper small enough for the foot of
246 ANTHONY HAMILTON
Sapinelle of Jutland, his daughter. He returns with them
to their country and great adventures befall him there.
II. At this point of the handsome Facardin's story wild
sounds of trumpets, clarions, fifes and drums are heard and
there appears a procession of gorgeously attired slaves,
four of whom carry a litter. The camels of our travellers
take fright and Facardin of Trebizond and his secretary
are separated from the handsome Facardin, who disappears
from the scene for ever. They afterwards find out that in
the litter was travelling Mousseline la Serieuse, returning
to her father's kingdom after having spent three vain
months in quest of something to make her laugh. Facardin
has now reached the Red Sea, and his secretary proceeds
to relate a long tale which is to reveal the origin of the name
of the sea.
III. The story is suddenly interrupted by the landing
of a boat from which there steps a hideous damsel. In spite
of the secretary's warnings and entreaties she makes Facar-
din embark with her in order that he may save the most
precious life that ever was. They land and though he is
several times requested to disarm himself he arrives, sword
in hand, in the presence of Cristalline la Curieuse, whom he
is to deliver and who is none other than the complacent
lady of the hundred rings, collected as described at the
beginning of the Arabian Nights. 1
The lady gives him an account of her adventures. In
her youth a Genius carried her off to his palace under the
sea, where she led a monotonous existence until a tall
young knight sinks down to their kingdom and is revived
by the Genius. The knight, Facardin by name, the third
Facardin of the tale, and Crist alline manage to outwit the
jealousy of the Genius, but one day the tall Facardin dis-
appears. The Genius notices his wife's sadness and, in
order to give her some diversion, proceeds to travel about
with her. This is no great consolation, for he carries her
about in a cristal coffer and when he lets her out he falls
asleep, his head on her knees. Notwithstanding these
precautions Cristalline goes through the series of adventures
familiar to readers of the Arabian Nights, demanding a
ring from each of her victims. One day the Genius seeing
her play with the rings discovers her infidelity and con-
1 Mille et une Nuits, pp. 6-7. M. Anatole France has recounted the
episode in his Rdtisserie de la Reine Ptdauque, pp. 289-291.
THE TALES 247
demns her to be burned alive unless she can find, within a
year, some adventurer who is willing to make himself
possessor of the hundred rings. The year has all but elapsed
and the new-comer, Facardin of Trebizond, is her only hope.
IV. Facardin refuses to undergo the adventure pro-
posed, but offers to hew his way for her through the atten-
dants of the Genius. Crist alline gives him a magic spinning-
wheel as a shield and takes one herself, they manage to
escape, reach a boat which carries them swiftly to another
shore where they meet three curiously attired adventurers,
one of them being the tall Facardin. They imagine Facardin
of Trebizond to be engaged in the same exploit as they, but
finding they are mistaken, one of the knights - errant tells
him the story of Mousseline la Serieuse, adding that who-
ever causes Mousseline to laugh or overcomes a monster
that is devastating the kingdom of Astracan will receive
Mousseline and all her father's estates in reward.
Here Hamilton breaks off his tale, referring the rest of
the Prince of Trebizond's story to the second part of these
Memoirs.
Now it may be asked in what manner Hamilton satirizes
the Arabian Nights. We have already seen that his object
was ' marquer les absurdites de ces recits mal inventes,'
and that, especially in the Quatre Facardins, incident is
made to follow upon incident in the most bewildering
fashion. The various adventures of the four Facardins are
as disconnected as possible. In Fleur d'Epine, not only
are some of the actions of the hero quite incomprehensible
to the reader, but the hero himself is not quite sure of their
why and wherefore, though in the end everything, of course,
turns out for his good. The personages are all almost with-
out exception eminently ridiculous.
Hamilton suspected Galland of having improved on the
original ; the Arabian Nights, it seemed to him, left Barbin,
the publisher, ' plus arabes qu'en Arabic.' 1 Accordingly he
accentuates the Oriental in many places. Tarare, coun-
selling the caliph to apply to the fairy Serena for advice,
suggests sending her ' a trifle of a million or two/ and when
1 (Euvres, II, p. 259. We know now that Galland indeed took consider-
able liberties with the text, but far from deepening the local colour, he
rather sought to tone it down to the taste of his countrymen. Cf . especially
Burton's Terminal Essay in Vol. VIII of the Arabian Nights.
248 ANTHONY HAMILTON
at last he is sent on his mission he carries with him " a
purse of sparkling diamonds and half a bushel of large
pearls," the roads on Crist alline's island are strewn with
diamond powder, gold and silver and broidered raiment
abound everywhere in the correct fashion. Cristalline's
attendant addresses Facardin after the manner of Moliere's
Grand Turk. " Que la rose*e du matin vous soit toujours
en aide ; que celle du soir vous flatte tendrement les joues
et que les paroles de votre bienaimde soient aussi f avorables
a votre cceur que le chant du coq Test a 1'oreille qui ne peut
dormir la nuit." Another attendant swears by the great
Ali, founder of the Green Turbans. Facardin 's secretary
reviles his camel and the ' great prophet ' who brought the
camel into the world. And so on.
Another proceeding that Hamilton resorts to, a pro-
ceeding familiar to him from the Typhon and the Virgile
Travesty, is the effective use of anachronism. In Fleur
d'Epine the caliph is served by a seneschal and by a ' grand
prevot.' The seneschal's son is a count, gentilhomme de
Tepee. The hapless lovers die after the manner ordained
by Voiture and the pre*cieux, " gently murmuring her name
and humbly thanking those beautiful eyes for having dealt
them so sweet and glorious a death." The caliph fears that
the power of his daughter's eyes will people the court
with ' Quinze-Vingts/ he is therefore advised to send her
to a convent, since there would be no great harm in a score
or so of ancient nuns and their abbess losing their sight for
the benefit of the State. When the caliph asks Tarare what
to do with his daughter, Tarare replies by parodying some
lines from a madrigal of Jean de Lingendes, Honore d'tMe^s
friend. Finding himself in great difficulties Tarare no longer
knows to what saint to recommend himself, and when he
returns successfully the caliph's councillors propose to
honour him like some Roman conqueror with the great
and the small triumph. The wicked senechale is condemned
to be sent to the Petites Maisons. Facardin, arrayed in a
dressing-gown, is carried by his boat to a distant coast and
is dismayed to find the inhabitants watching his approach
through field-glasses ; a bearded high priest is called
Monsieur 1'Abbe, and then there is Facardin of Trebizond
himself, ' fait a peindre, vaillant, adroit, grand parleur et
quelque peu Gascon,' a kind of knight-errant who brings into
this Oriental tale a flavour of the tales of Chivalry.
THE TALES 249
And while this Eastern tale is burlesqued 1 by the intro-
duction of wandering semi- Western knights, the author
cannot help having his fling in turn at the romances of
chivalry. Facardin of Trebizond is a knight of admirable
common sense. He sets out in quest of adventure, but
with great savoir faire first secures a ' liste des tournois
publics par le monde avec un etat des aventures les plus
impraticables.' Instead of taking a squire to wait upon
him, he takes a secretary who writes down his exploits,
keeps a journal of the expedition and rather irritates him
by his bel esprit and by the diligence with which he keeps
drawing a map of the countries they traverse. The hand-
some Facardin speaks the language and shares in the high-
flown sentiments of Amadis and Galaor. Like Amadis he
is a humble and sighing lover ; Facardin of Trebizond, who
is inordinately vain, reassures him complacently, " I have
met with a hundred beauties in my travels, some of whom
were of the first distinction, none of them ever cost me
more than a single sigh. My secretary shall give you a
list of them with their addresses. Pay them a visit, and
when we meet again, you shall tell me how they are." The
disreputable Cristalline is made to act the part of the
inevitable maiden in distress who sends her damoyselle to
crave a boon, her deliverance, of the valiant knights who
go riding by on camels.
Les Quatre Facardins is thus not a purely Eastern tale ;
in Fleur d'Epine there is one thing that contrasts curiously
with the semi-Oriental setting, the character of Fleur
d'Epine herself. The heroines of the Arabian Nights are
marked by a strange waywardness ; they arrive in the
market-places and unveil themselves to the young mer-
chants, they send their slaves to invite the traveller from
the khan to the harem, they appear unbidden at the
nocturnal banquet ; but Fleur d'Epine is a maiden unknown
to the Arabian Nights, modest and shy and with a delightful
1 Brunetiere points out in an interesting article that the burlesque and
the precieux are by no means opposed, but rather symptoms of the same
attitude, and that the last years of the reign of Louis XIV and the Regency
which saw a revival of the esprit precieux were no less marked by a revival
of the burlesque. (La Maladie du Burlesque in Etudes critiques sur
I'Histoire de la Literature franfaise. Huitieme Serie, Paris, 1907.) The
works of Hamilton fully bear out this statement. Hamilton has something
of both Voiture and Scarron in him, though Voiture, of course, more than
predominates.
250 ANTHONY HAMILTON
diffidence in love which Hamilton has rendered with sur-
prising art. We will not go as far as Montegut, who describes
Fleur d'Epine as the most charming fairy-tale ever written
in France, 1 but one might certainly long search the pages
of the Oriental tale and the conte de fees of the period for
anything approaching the grace of Hamilton's tale. Yet
there is no cloying sweetness about it, for the author is
amiably amused by his young lovers and his delicate
raillery makes all sentiment alism impossible. He himself
seems to have realized that in this case he had not been
altogether successful in pouring contempt on the fairy-tale.
" L'ecrivain lui-meme est la fable des contes qu'il a
critiques." 2
So much for the tales themselves something still remains
to be said about their framework. Hamilton seems to have
considered the device of a sultana relating stories every
night to her consort supremely ridiculous. 8 Already in
Le Belter, written when the first volumes of the Arabian
Nights were appearing, he had not spared that mechanism.
The nymph Alie (who lived in the reign of Pepin), distraught
with grief, temporarily loses her reason, and her mind being
full of the story of Schahriahr, Scheherazade and Dinarzade,
she imagines herself to be Scheherazade, proceeds to relate
to her imaginary audience the tale of her life, stopping in
the correct fashion at the most critical part of her story,
because of the dawning day. The Giant, not unlike the
1 Revue des Deux Mondes, April, 1862, p. 671.
1 (Euvres, II, p. 260. And as a matter of fact Hamilton the critic was
criticised in turn. In 1735 the Pere Bougeant published a satirical tale,
le Voyage merveilleux du Prince Fan Feredin dans la Romancie, contenant
plusieurs observations historiques, geographiques, physiques, critiques et
morales. The mare Sonnante is one of the marvellous animals that inhabit
the country of Romancie (p. 47), and Fleur d'Epine and the Four Facardins
move in the society of the Contes Mogols and la Constance des promptes
Amours (p. 220).
* Nor was Hamilton the only one who laughed at the unfailing regu-
arity of Dinarzade's " Ma soeur, si vous ne dormez pas, contez nous done
un de ces beaux contes que vous contez si bien." There is that well-known
anecdote of the worthy Galland being awakened from his sleep one wintry
night and finding under his window three or four young men exclaiming
rapturously, " Monsieur Galland ! Monsieur Galland ! Si vous ne dormez
pas, contez nous done un de ces beaux contes que vous savez si bien ! "
The fact that Galland suppressed the framework in his later volumes
speaks for the authenticity of the anecdote " Les lecteurs des deux premiers
volumes de ces contes ont 6te fatigues de 1'interruption que Dinarzade
apportait 4 leur lecture. On a remedie 4 ce defaut dans les volumes qui
ont suivi." (Avertissement, Vol. VII, ist ed.)
THE TALES 251
Sultan, has to be amused by stories, but the story-teller
in this case is not the incomparable Scheherazade, merely
a ram who knows by heart a thousand stories.
Hamilton went further now and connected both his
tales with the Arabian Nights. Fleur d'Epine is the thou-
sand and first night, the Quatre Facardins the thousand
and second. The concluding volumes of the Nights had
not yet appeared. Hamilton was therefore at liberty to
give the last night the form he pleased. He makes Sche-
herazade feign an illness and lets the last story be told by
Dinarzade, who stipulates that any interruption on the
Sultan's part will cancel the sentence of death hanging over
her sister. She gives her hero the name of Tarare, 1 and
the name is so often repeated and the meaning of the word
gives such frequent occasions for puns, that in the end
the Sultan can control himself no longer, objects, and
Scheherazade's life is safe. 2 Dinarzade tells her tale to the
1 " Mot burlesque qui signifie quand on s'en sert qu'on se moque de ce
que Ton dit" (Furetiere). Molidre uses it three times. In the translation
published by Bohn in 1 849 Tarare is translated as Pooh-pooh. The editor
of the first English translation of Fleur d'Epine tells an ingenious but
unauthenticated story in connexion with the name of the hero. " The
conversation," he says, happening to turn in a company in which he
[Hamilton] was present, on the A rabian Nights Entertainments which were
just published, every one highly commended the book ; many seemed to
hint at the difficulty of writing that species of composition." " Nothing
can be more easy," replied Count Hamilton, " and as proof of it I will
venture to write a Circassian tale, after the manner of the Arabian Nights
Entertainment, on any subject which you can mention." " Fiddlestick,"
replied the other. " You have hit it," said Count Hamilton, " and I
promise you that I will produce a tale in which Fiddlestick shall be the
principal hero." In a few days he finished his tale, which he called Fleur
d'Epine.
* The end given by Galland was Galland's own invention, for his
manuscript had no conclusion. According to Galland, the Sultan who ad-
mires Scheherazade's memory, her courage and her patience retracts his
sentence. " Je vous remets entierement dans mes bonnes graces." Ac-
cording to some MSS. the Sultan is bored by the last stories, and when
Scheherazade asks whether he still persists in his resolution he replies,
" C'est assez, qu'on lui coupe la tte, car ses dernieres histoires m'ont
ennuye mortellement." Scheherazade then sends for her three children,
and everything ends happily. (Contes in&dits des Mille et une Nuits,
extraits de 1'original arabe par M. J. de Hammer, traduits en fran9ais
par M. G. Trebutien.) Cf. Burton, VIII, p. 51, and Lane, III, p. 733,
where Scheherazade after finishing her stories sends for her sons, and
the Sultan, moved to tears, assures her that he pardoned her long before
the coming of these children. E. A. Poe amused himself by describ-
ing the ioo2nd Night. S. has been pardoned but cannot resist telling
another tale which the Sultan finds so absurd that he repents of his
lenience and has her strangled. (Works, ed. by Ingram, Edinburgh, 1883,
third edition in 4 vols., I, p. 216 sq.).
252 ANTHONY HAMILTON
very end though dawn had come long before, " mais Dinar-
zade s'etoit moquee de son eclat naissant." We suppose
that this is the last of these noctural tales, but the next
night the Sultan commands the Prince of Trebizond,
Dinarzade's lover, to remain with them and to relate his
adventures. Accordingly we have the story of the Quatre
Facardins.
The Sultan's childlike interest in Scheherazade's stories
seems to have irritated Hamilton, for he revenges himself
by making Schahriahr as foolish as he can ; everyone
except Schahriahr is bored by the stories and the flippant
manner in which Dinarzade speaks to Scheherazade about
the ' animal d'empereur ' and ' votre benet de man/ is
a piquant contrast to the respect with which the Com-
mander of the Faithful is treated in the original Arabian
Tales. Those who had been more or less bored by the
Arabian Nights must have approved of the impatient
criticism with which Dinarzade rewards Trebizond's en-
deavours and which, of course, voices Hamilton's objections
to the long drawn-out episodes of the Mille et une Nuits.
' You are desired to relate your own adventures which,
in the present posture of affairs you should have told as
concisely as possible, and instead of this you weary us
with another person's, accompanied with details so unin-
teresting that it is a doubt whether they are more tedious
or trifling." 1 And elsewhere, after a sigh of relief: "A
thousand thanks," she cries, " to the satraps in chintz, the
gilded palanquin, the slaves who bore it, the umbrellas
which shaded it, and, above all, to the flageolets, fifes,
cymbals and bagpipes, which by frightening your camel,
separated you from Facardin the Second ! And oh ! for
ever blessed be the river, whose well-timed overflowing
prevented you from falling in with him again ! Had it
not been for that fortunate accident, I doubt not you
would have wearied us as intolerably with the end of his
adventures as you have already done with the beginning.
For Heaven's sake, my dear prince, tell me at once how
many years it will take you to relate your history, since
though you have now trespassed upon our good Sultan's
patience for a very considerable time, you have employed
it entirely in recounting the misfortunes of another person." 2
1 Tales, Bohn's edition (1849), p. 19.
1 /*-. PP. 37-38.
THE TALES 253
The Sultan fortunately does not take in this tirade as he
has become too drowsy, or as Facardin euphemistically
describes it, has his attention distracted by some serious
political reflexions.
Very amusing is the way in which Schahriahr's old
acquaintance, the lady of the hundred rings, is brought into
the story. In the Arabian Nights Schahriahr and his
brother furnish her with the ninety-ninth and the hundredth
ring. Facardin is relating Cristalline's story and how she
complains of the unwillingness of all her victims, especially
of the last two, the most cowardly knaves she had ever met.
" Trebizonde, my good friend," says the Sultan, rousing
himself from a half slumber, " what was that you said
last ? " " Mighty Lord," replies Trebizonde with perfect
gravity, " I said that the virtuous Cristalhne informed me
that having carried her adventure to the ninety-eighth,
she received the two last rings from two poor cowardly
devils who almost expired through fright." " She lied,"
exclaims the Sultan, who recognizes himself, "but go on
with your history : we will discuss that point another
time." 1
In Le Better, as we have seen, there are ' mille petits faits
deguisez.' There is no doubt that the readers of Hamilton's
manuscript books enjoyed Fleur d'Epine and the Quatre
Facardins in a way that we cannot. In the Prince of
Trebizond they probably saw reminiscences of Gramont,
the 'politique de campagne qui se melait d'entretenir des
correspondances a la cour/ and the Prince who insisted
that his sons should always speak of him as ' Monsieur mon
pere ' were perhaps well-known characters ; as for the
seneschal, the prime minister of whom it is said that he
was the most foolish man who had ever presided a
council, it is difficult not to see a portrait of Chamillart in
him. "As he had not the capabilities which those who
govern usually have, or ought to have, neither had he
their presumption, and much less their abrupt manners
(an allusion, of course, to the enemy, Louvois). He was the
most affable minister that ever existed." 2 And those who
thought of Chamillart in reading these lines, understood
the force of the apparently inoffensive statement, " Le calife
n'avoit eu garde de manquer a faire son premier ministre
1 Ib., pp. 74-75.
2 ib., p. 392.
254 ANTHONY HAMILTON
d'une tte comme celle-la." 1 They knew how to appreciate
the audacity of the innocent little scene between the caliph,
Tarare and the seneschal. " Speak to him boldly, Your
Highness," said the seneschal, "he understands all manner
of languages." The caliph who could only talk his own,
and that not very elegantly, after pausing some time,
trying to find something clever to say, " What's your name,
friend ? " said he. 2 The seventeenth century was truly
a thing of the past. The Comtesse de Murat had dedicated
her fairy-tales to the Dowager Princess of Conti, the Com-
tesse d'Auneuil inscribed hers to the Duchesse de Bourgogne,
and these princesses knew to look for their portraits in the
gracious and graceful fairies, but with Hamilton we are
entering another age.
Besides Fleur d'Epine and the Quatre Facardins we
have a fragment of an Oriental tale in verse, La Pyramide
et le Cheval d'Or. It is exceedingly dull and is only men-
tioned for the sake of completeness.
Hamilton's influence on the French conteurs has already
been mentioned. Boufflers avowedly takes him as his
1 Cf . also the delightful " Le calife lui en donna sa parole, et le senechal
qui aimoit 4 travailier, lui en expedia des lettres patentes."
1 Le Belier has also one or two of these touches. " Mon pre le prince
le plus magnifique de son sidcle . . . avoit rassemble a grands frais les
livres les plus rares et les plus curieux de 1'univers, mais il n'en avoir
jamais lu un seul." Elsewhere the Giant says to Alie, " Je vais t'enfermet
dans la chambre et ensuite je m'informerai de la verite," a remark not
without its sting in this age of the lettre de cachet.
In some cases Hamilton's satire is of a more general nature. In Fleur
d'Epine by way of protest against the amazing beauty with which the
chief personages of fiction are usually dowered, he chooses a hero who is
far from handsome and a heroine who is inferior in looks to at least one of
the other characters. (The worthy La Harpe therefore describes Fleur
d'Epine as a tale with a moral purpose ; we fear that Hamilton had no
such thing in mind when he composed Fleur d'Epine.) In the same story
the fairy Serena restores Fleur d'Epine to health again, and Phenix is turned
from a parrot into a man. The convenience of such a proceeding is, of
course, obvious. " Oh," remarks Hamilton, as if moved by a sudden after-
thought, " que les enchantements sont d'un grand secours pour le denoue-
ment d'une intrigue et la fin d'un conte ! " Long amorous conversations
he cannot bear, therefore in such places where the reader might be justified
in expecting them, Hamilton accounts for their absence by explaining
that since the reader would probably have skipped them, he may very
well do without them. Tarare's real name, it will be remembered, is Pinson,
and he has changed his name for no particular reason ; this, of course, is
a satire on the double appelations of certain personages in the grands
romans.
THE TALES
model. 1 Caylus and Bougeant likewise write literary
parodies. Crebillon especially sought to imitate Hamilton,
though, as Madame du Deffand remarks, he resembles him
as little as the ass of La Fontaine's fable resembles the
little dog. 2 The Oriental tale is now no longer told and
received with sincere wonder ; the marvellous has given
way to the manifestly absurd, imitation yields to carica-
ture, and the fashionable attitude is one of well-bred super-
ciliousness. Henceforward the Sultan of the eighteenth-
century conteurs ceases to be an heroic figure. Voisenon
disrespectfully calls his Sultan Misapouf , and Schah Baham
in le Sopha and Ah, Quel Conte is modelled directly on
Schahriahr in Fleur d'Epine and the Quatre Facardins and
on the giant in Le Belier. 3 He is supposed to be a grandson
of Schahriar's, just as the Queen of the Crystal Island is
a granddaughter of Crist alline la Curieuse.
It is difficult to delimit Hamilton's influence on Voltaire,
yet, if any conteur resembles Hamilton, it is Voltaire ; if
any conteur approaches Voltaire from afar it is Hamilton.
It is just because Hamilton's influence is so subtle, just
because it does not affect externals that it escapes a close
analysis. In many of Voltaire's tales there are reminiscences
of earlier stories though, of course, he makes the matter
quite his own but he does not borrow from Hamilton.
Nor did he learn from Hamilton to use the tale as a vehicle
for satire, for this he had models in Rabelais and Cyrano de
1 See the Epitre at the beginning of Aline, Reine de Golconde.
2 Lettres, III, p. 316. The fable of La Fontaine alluded to is the fifth
of Book IV. The ass, seeing the little dog caressed when lie ' shakes hands,'
attempts to do the same with disastrous results.
Ne felons point notre talent,
Nous ne ferions rien avec grace,
Jamais un lourdaud, quoiqu'il fasse,
Ne sauroit passer pour galant.
3 Cf., for instance, the Sultan's interest in the personages described
" Voila une femme qui me plait tout a fait!' dit Schah-Baham, 'elleadu
sentiment et n'est pas comme cette Zephis . . . qui d'ailleurs etait bien
la plus sotte precieuse que j'ai de ma vie rencontree ! Je sens qu'elle
m'interesse innniment et je vous la recommande, Amanzei ; entendez-
vous? Tachez qu'on ne la chagrine pas toujours.' ' Sire,' repondit Amanzei,
' je la favoriserai autant que le respect du a la verite pourra me le per-
mettre.' " (Le Sopha, Paris, n.d., two vols.) II, p. 10.
" AprSs le souper ..."
" ' Tout doucement, s'il vous plait,' interrompit Schah-Baham, ' je veux
si cela ne vous deplait pas les voir souper. J'aime sur toutes choses les
propos de table.' " (Ib., p. 94.)
Such passages abound in A h t Quel Conte !
256 ANTHONY HAMILTON
Bergerac, in Montesquieu and Swift ; though Hamilton's
tales are satirical parodies of the literature of the day
they are leisurely and playful compared to those of Vol-
taire, moving relentlessly to the end that is ever kept in
sight j 1 they have none of the philosophic depth of Candide
and Zadig, 2 their aim is not to prove the incongruities of
this life, no grim rerum concordia discors 3 haunts them ;
they are not a reductio ad absurdum of certain time-
honoured theories. But what Hamilton did bequeath to
Voltaire was his manner of relating, his calm polite malice,
his easy deprecating grace, the air of unconscious ridicule,
that delightfully grave irony, so sure that it never exag-
gerates, so restrained that it never gives way to laughter.
Passages like " Orcan fut condamne' a lui payer une grosse
somme et a lui rendre sa femme ; mais le pecheur, devenu
sage, ne prit que l'argent," 4 or, " On chanta denotement
de trs belles prieres apres quoi on brula a petit feu tous les
coupables, de quoi toute la famille royale parut extreme-
ment e'difie'e," 6 read like Hamilton, just as there is much
of Voltaire in " Les dames reconnurent dans la foule un
petit saint a plusieurs marques exte'rieures de saintete',
entre autres a ce qu'il priait Dieu pendant la messe "; 6 and
with the famous instance of Voltairean irony as shown in
the alleged reason for Byng's execution, " pour encourager
les autres " 7 may be compared the epithet which Hamilton
bestows on the gentlemen who met to swear away Anne
Hyde's character " tous gens d'honneur."
No doubt Voltaire brought the manner to perfection
and applied to serious subjects the ironic treatment which
Hamilton had applied to much that was trivial, no doubt
that it also came to him from Saint-Evremond ; but when
all is said, he owes not a little to the writer who in his
finesse, his attitude of mockery and indifference, his predi-
lection for les petits genres, his lightness of touch and
1 Cf. what one of Voltaire's characters says of the conte : " Je voudrois
surtout que sous le voile de la fable il laissat entrevoir aux yeux exerces
quelque verite fine qui echappe au vulgaire." (CEuvres, XXI, p. 506.)
* Le Taureau Blanc and la Princesse de Babylone are perhaps the tales
which resemble Hamilton's most closely.
CEuvres, XXI, p. 501 (Le Taureau Blanc).
Zadig, Chapter 21.
Histoire des Voyages de Scarmentado.
(Euvres, III, p. 10.
Candide, Chapter 23.
THE TALES 257
lucidity of style was one of the first to give the note of the
eighteenth century.
In England the Oriental tale makes its appearance at
much the same time as in France, and, as Dr. Conant has
shown in her excellent monograph, the Oriental fiction
that was not original in English came, almost without
exception, from French imitations or translations of genuine
Oriental tales. 1 The first English translation of Hamilton's
works was not, however, published till 1760, thirty years
after they had appeared in France and long after the more
recent tales of Bougeant, Caylus, Crebillon and Voltaire
had been translated. Moreover, in 1760 had begun to
appear a work with greater claim to immortality and of
much greater interest to an English public than anything
from Hamilton's pen, though not unlike in spirit Gold-
smith's Citizen of the World. The Gentleman's Magazine
made a passing reference to the Tales in 1774, and proposed
to print extracts from them, but this was never done. Their
qualities were not of the kind to procure them popularity
except with the connoisseur, and from the very nature of
his writings Hamilton's influence was not one to make
itself felt widely ; it is discernible chiefly in those who
were able to appreciate him in the original, for much of the
fine flavour is lost in the first awkward translation. And
this influence is not so much that of Hamilton, the writer
of Oriental tales, for the English had much better models,
nor even that of Hamilton, the writer of literary parodies,
who had such a following among the French conteurs
the English parodies of the Oriental tale are few in number
but rather the influence of Hamilton, the suave satirist
and eighteenth-century man as he had also revealed himself
in the Memoirs, transmitting the spirit of Saint-Evremond
to Voltaire, and it is perhaps rather through Voltaire than
directly that this influence is exerted, and accordingly pro-
portionately difficult to determine.
Probably Beckford is the Englishman who owes most
to Hamilton, and it is one of the coincidences of literature
that these two Englishmen of the same family should have
written Oriental tales in French. Beckford was a great-
grandson of Anthony Hamilton's brother James, and
proud both of his Hamilton blood and the illustrious
kinsman whom he certainly had in mind when he composed
1 Conant, The Oriental tale in England in the i&th Century; Preface.
S
258 ANTHONY HAMILTON
Vathek. " I think Count Hamilton will smile on me when
we meet in Paradise/' he remarked, as he noted with
satisfaction that his Arabian tales were progressing pro-
digiously. 1 He had in his library no less than three com-
plete sets of Hamilton's works, not to mention odd copies
of the Memoir es de Grammont. 2
As for Vathek, simply " une petite brochure ecrite dans
le gout des Conte Arabes," according to the Censor Royal,
but nevertheless one of the masterpieces of English litera-
ture, in spite of being a translation, it has abundance of
satirical touches that very definitely recall the spirit of
mockery, the persiflage of Voltaire and Hamilton. Vathek
who wished to know everything, " meme les sciences qui
n'existaient pas/' but who sent the too argumentatively
learned to prison to cool their blood, the worthy Emir
Fakreddin, " religieux a toute outrance et grand compli-
ment eur," the devout and officious little dwarfs re-reading
the Alcoran for the nine hundred and ninety-ninth time
when they were not mumbling their prayers, the savants,
the demi-savants and those who were neither though they
thought they knew all things, the wicked Carathis, " la
vertu meme et ennemie juree des amours et de la mollesse,"
her camel Alboufaki, who loved solitude and in whose
society the woodcutters felt uneasy, the bees who were
' bonnes musulmanes/ they might all have come from the
pen of Hamilton, and remarks like the following sound
curiously familiar, " On croyoit qu'un souverain qui se
livre au plaisir est pour le moins aussi propre a gouverner
que celui qui s'en declare Tennerm." " II ne croyoit pas
. . . qu'il fallut se faire un enfer de ce monde pour avoir
un paradis dans 1'autre." " Le calif e trouva 1'eau fraiche
mais les prieres ennuyeuses a mort," etc. Here, of course,
there are reminiscences as well of Hamilton's antithetical
style and instances could be multiplied. We find further
the same keen sense of the ridiculous which in Beckford's
case had already manifested itself in the Biographical
Memoirs of Extraordinary Painters, the same farcical treat-
ment, the same intentional absurdities, the same sensuous-
ness, and yet there is a great difference between Vathek
and the earlier French works, a difference which Mallarm^,
who prided himself on having rediscovered Vathek, saw
1 Lewis Melville, Life and Letters of William Beckford, p, 126,
* Catalogue of Boofo, Foothill Abbey, 1823, pp, 4, 301, 370, 385.
THE TALES 259
clearly when he suggested that Beckford, while imitating
Voltaire, foreshadowed Chateaubriand ; for, after all, the
Oriental tale, at the end of the eighteenth century, is not
altogether unconnected with the new romantic spirit, and,
strange as it may seem, even one of Hamilton's stories is
included in a collection of so-called Romantic Tales by
M. Lewis.
Vathek is far more impressive, more stately, more poetical
than the stereotyped conte and characterized by a certain
love of nature ; as the tale unfolds itself the flippancy of
the beginning gives way to a note of mystery and inevitable
doom while the closing pages attain to a real grandeur.
The long lost and newly published Episodes too, with the
possible exception of the Histoire de la Princesse Zulkais,
have little of the frivolousness of the first part of Vathek ;
the gloom deepens, the characters hurry on to their fore-
ordained ruin and a kind of underlying moral is more and
more emphasized that impiety must sooner or later be
punished and that the very prosperity of the wicked is
the beginning of the final tragedy. Lastly, Beckford was
deeply read in the lore of the East and had thus acquired
a by no means contemptible acquaintance with customs
and manners Oriental. Endless pains were bestowed on
Vathek to make the setting true to these, and a kind of
' local colour ' is attained which contrasts agreeably with
the Gallicized atmosphere of his predecessor's contes.
A literary parody in the nature of Hamilton's tales was
attempted by Goldsmith in the story of Prince Bonbenin
bonbobbin bonbobbinet, " who knew all things without
ever having read . . . and so penetrating was he that he
could tell the merit of a book by looking at the cover," 1
and the specimen of a newspaper Lien Chi Altangi sends
his friends 2 is a satire on the English Newsletter just as
Hamilton's Relations de divers endroits is a satire on the
French Newsletter.
Another literary parody and a singularly dull one is
Walpole's Hieroglyphic Tales, printed at Strawberry Hill
in 1785. The first of these satirizes inter alia the frame-
work of the Arabian Nights, which Hamilton had been
the first to do, and we see once more the foolish Sultan
who like Crebillon's Schah Baham " ne comprenoit jamaig
1 Citizen of the World, letters 48 a,ncj 49-
9 Ib,, Letter 5,
260 ANTHONY HAMILTON
bien que les choses absurdes et hors de toute vraisemblance,"
as Walpole reminds us on the title-page. In this tale a
princess is to be married to a giant, but when she reaches
the palace the giant, to her great surprise, is scarcely of
ordinary height just as the height of the giant Moulineau
in Le Belier dwindles considerably on nearer acquaintance.
The traditions of the fantastic-satirical tale were in a
measure carried on by Peacock and particularly by Disraeli.
Peacock owes much to the French conteurs, especially to
Marmontel, whose Conies Moraux, as Professor Saintsbury
points out, 1 link his writings to the Hamiltonian-Voltairean
conte, and indeed Hamilton would have enjoyed the
society of this Mr. Sarcastic and the raillery of his brilliant
prose extravaganzas. While, however, Peacock's novels,
with the exception of Maid Marian, deal with the society
of his day, and while the fantastic element is not too
prominent, except perhaps in the ' person ' of Sir Oran
Haut-ton, Bart., the orang-outang who can do everything
but talk, and stands for a one- vote borough, Disraeli wrote
three purely fantastic tales, two of which, Ixion in Heaven
and the Infernal Marriage, are burlesque versions of stories
of mythology, and the third, Popanilla, an imitation of
Gulliver's Travels, all three reminiscences of his schoolboy
admiration for Lucian and remarkable for the audacity of
the persiflage and the Voltairean pungency of wit, in spite
of the sometimes too obvious straining after smartness
jeux d'esprit of an author who never took himself quite
seriously and who, like Anthony Hamilton, mocks at
himself, his subject, his readers and even " those people
who do not read novels and are consequently unacquainted
with mankind." 2
The first of these is the most brilliant ; no doubt one of
the reasons for its success lay too in its travesty of prominent
people, George IV as Jupiter and Byron as Apollo, but it
is the last which reminds one chiefly of Hamilton, partly
because it has more of narrative and less of dialogue, but
particularly because of its undercurrent of satirical criticism.
Popanilla, the hero, who lives in an island, " so unfortunate
as not yet to have been visited either by Discovery Ships
or Missionary Societies/' is sent to the island of Vraibleusia,
where the inhabitants are much attached to science and
1 Introduction to Maid Marian and Crotchet Castle, 1895.
1 Popanilla (the New Pocket Library, 1906), p. 372.
THE TALES 261
natural philosophy that voyages and travels are read with
eagerness, particularly if they have coloured plates. The
account of Vraibleusia which follows is a satire on the
institutions of England, corn-laws, protection and all the
rest, the most amusing shaft is perhaps drawn at sinecure
offices the country of Vraibleusia annexes a barren and
always and altogether uninhabited island, and yet a noble
lord receives the important post of " Agent for the In-
demnity Claims of the Original Inhabitants of the Island ! "
In Disraeli's novels too we find, not infrequently, " this
ambiguous hovering between two meanings, this oscillation
between the ironical and the serious/' 1 that was his inherit-
ance from the eighteenth century and for which Hamilton
may receive a modest share of credit, though the greatest
part of it must needs go to Voltaire.
Through Wieland Hamilton's influence 2 spread to Ger-
many, where the Volksmdrchen of Musaeus (1782-1786)
and the translation of Galland's Arabian Nights, by J. H.
Voss (1781-1785), had aroused a new interest in the fairy-
tale. Wieland, familiar with the volumes of the Cabinet
des Fees that were appearing in France about the same
time, published in 1786, 1787 and 1789 Dschinnistan,
three volumes of collected fairy-tales, most of which were
translations and adaptations from the French. The second
volume contained Pertharite und Ferrandine and Alboflede,
episodes from Le Belier and Zeneyde. Pertharite und
Ferrandine resembles the original fairly closely, Alboflede
has been considerably changed.
But long before this Hamilton's tales had been known
to Wieland. In 1777 he tells Merck that he has read them
and re-read them about twenty times. 3 Hamilton is one of
his ideals, at least during that period of his life when he
scandalized his one-time friends by turning from an ardent
follower of Klopstock into an admirer of Crebillon fils, and
it must be confessed that he has rather a peculiar concep-
tion of Hamilton ; he sees in him a personage ' half faun,
1 Leslie Stephen, Hours in a Library, Vol. II, p. 290.
2 The relation of Wieland's tales to the French fairy-tale has been very
carefully studied by O. Mayer in Die Feenmarchen bei Wieland, Viertel-
jahrschrift fur Litteraturgeschichte, Vol. V. I am to some extent indebted
to his article for the above remarks.
3 Wieland to Merck, Oct. 22nd, 1777.
262 ANTHONY HAMILTON
half God of love.' 1 The story of the four Facardins rouses
his admiration particularly, he describes it as a tale that
would be incomparable, had it not, like Apelles' Aphrodite,
been left incomplete. 2 The episode of Prince Biribinker in
Don Sylvio von Rosalva, published in 1764, shows the
unmistakable influence of the Quatre Facardins. The
enchanter, the great Caramoussal of Mount Atlas, reappears,
the fairy Cristalline is not unrelated to Cristalline la Curieuse,
and the horror which fills Galactine when the name of
Biribinker is pronounced imitates the feelings of revulsion
that are caused by the name of Facardin. The poem Idris
Wieland describes to Gessner as " a fable in the style of
the Quatre Facardins or Le Better." 3 Astramond is Cara-
moussal once more, Ityphall is a prince of Trebizond and
certainly suggests the prince of Trebizond in Hamilton's
tale ; the name Zenide is probably formed from Zeneyde and
the ironical treatment of the hero, the continual intervention
of the author, the burlesque tone of the narrative are here
and elsewhere a reminiscence of Hamilton's manner. The
poem was never completed, and though Wieland expressed
his willingness to bring it to a close, should he be asked to
do so in a petition signed by three critics and three prudes,
yet, as he tells us, he really intended that Idris should, in
this respect, remain a kind of pendant to the Quatre Facar-
dins.* Another tale that bears the mark of the Quatre
Facardins is der neue Amadis. The neighbourhood of Mount
Atlas is once more the scene of the tale, a prince of Trebizond
is one of the heroes. Boreas is a grandson of the tall Facardin
and the new Amadis instead of riding about with a squire
is accompanied by a secretary who is to write a record of
his exploits. The knight Parasol is attended by the Giant
Moulineau, for Wieland hopes, as he tells us, that all who
will read der neue Amadis are familiar with Le Betier. 6
1 Idris, Canto I, Werke (Leipzig, Goschen, 1794-1802), XVII, p. 15.
1 Der neue Amadis (Reutlingen, 1777), p. 169, note.
8 Wieland to Gessner, July 2ist, 1766. " Stellen Sie sich eine Fabel
im Geschmack der Quatre Facardins oder des Belier von Hamilton vor,
aber eine Fabel, die keiner anderen gleichsieht, die noch aus einem gesunden
Kopfe gekommen ist die Quintessenz aller Abenteuer der Amadise und
Feenmarchen." M. Rossel's statement, "Hamilton est son ideal; ' il y
trouve,' dit-il dans une lettre a Gessner, ' la quintessence de toutes les
aventures d' Amadis et des contes de f 6es ' " (Histoire des Relations Litteraires
entre la France et I'Allemagne, p. 424) is a mistranslation.
4 Preface to Idris (Werke, XVII, pp. 7-8).
* Der neue Amadis (Reutlingen, 1777), Canto I, p. 21.
THE TALES 263
There also appears a damsel called Olinde whom Amadis
is willing to wed in spite of her revolting ugliness. His
generosity is rewarded by the return of Olinde's former
beauty, and with her beauty is restored to her her former
name Flordepine ; this, of course, recalls Tarare's resolu-
tion to wed the disfigured Fleur d'Epine and the happy
metamorphosis of the maiden.
Such names as Blaffardine die Blonde, Leoparde die
Strenge, Schatulliose die Keusche suggest Cristalline la
Curieuse, Mousseline la Serieuse, Fleur d'Epine la Blonde. 1
While L'Enchanteur Faustus was only given to the
general public in 1776 when to the six volumes of his com-
plete works was added a seventh containing some hitherto
unpublished matter, Le Better, Fleur d'Epine and Us Quatre
Facardins were first printed in 1730, each in a separate
volume. Zeneyde appeared in 1731 in a volume of (Euvres
melees and in Volumes IV and V of an edition of Hamilton's
works printed at Utrecht. These tales were frequently
reprinted though not nearly as often as the Memoires de
Grammont.
1 It might be added (at the risk of showing some affinity with a class
of people Wieland laughs at, " Leute, die auf entdeckte Aehnlichkeiten
sich viel zu Gute thun ") that there are also one or two references to the
Mtmoires de Grammont. An action of Blaffardine's is considered justifiable
because a similar little incident took place in Miss Stuart's apartments
after the audience of the Muscovite ambassador. (Der neue Amadis,
p. 187 and note.)
Miss Blagge seems to have been the prototype of Miss Blaffardine die
Blonde. Cf. the following passages :
" Son visage etoit de la derniere fadeur, et son teint e fourrait partout,
avec de petits yeux recules, garnis de paupidres blondes longues comme
le doigt (Hamilton, I, p. 139). Vous etiez 1'autre jour plus charmante que
toutes les blondes de 1'univers. Je vous vis hier encore plus blonde que
vous ne 1'etiez ce jour-la (I, p. 144). L'on fut surpris d'une coiffure qui
la rendoit plus blafarde que jamais (I, p. 153). Le chevalier Yarborough,
aussi blond qu'elle s'offrit . . . fut ecout6 favorablement et le sort fit ce
mariage pour voir ce que produirait une union si blafarde" (I, p. 262). And
. . . stellen sie sich . . .
Was blonders vor als Schnee im Sonnenschein,
Die Haare feuerfarb, die Augen ertraglich klein,
Doch wasserblau, und ohne sie todt zu nennen,
So unbedeutend als schliefen sie offen ein.
(Der neue Amadis, Werke IV, p. 116, Canto VI.)
. . . Miss Blaffardine die Blonde
So blond und so sehr in ihre Blondheit verliebt . . .
Und ihre Schonheit verspricht, weil noch kein Ritter fur sie
Sich blond genug fand, der Nachwelt keinen Erben.
(Ibid., p. 9, Canto I.)
264 ANTHONY HAMILTON
The first English translation of these tales, with the
exception of L'Enchanteur Faustus, appeared in 1760 as
already mentioned. A new translation of Fleur d'Epine, the
History of May Flower, followed in 1793. Matthew Lewis
included a translation of the Quatre Facardins in his Roman-
tic Tales (1808), and finally in 1849 ms translation was
reprinted along with the translation of the other tales
by H. T. Ryde and C. Kenney, who believed that they were
the first to introduce them to the English public. At that
late date, however, public opinion does not seem to have
received them with much favour. Their only justification,
according to the Athenceum, lay in the fact that some know-
ledge of them was indispensable to a full understanding of
Horace Walpole's wit, otherwise they were " cumbrous and
entangled, their satire insipid and their meaning rather
unmeaning." 1
A German translation of Fleur d'Epine appeared before
1777 under the name of Namur ; in 1777 came Dornroschen t
der Widder and die vier Facardine, published in one volume,
and Doktor Faust followed in 1778. The episodes very
freely translated by Wieland have been mentioned.
The publisher of the first edition of Zeneyde in 1731 drew
attention to the fact that out of respect for the memory of
the author he had given his readers the tale in its incom-
plete condition, but that no effort should be spared to dis-
cover the missing part, if it were in existence. 2 Years later
1 Athen&um, 1849, p. 953.
1 And it was rumoured that a friend of Hamilton's possessed the second
part (Avis du Libraire, (Euvres mtttes, 1731). It seems almost certain
that Hamilton had really completed the Quatre Facardins but that,
unfortunately, the manuscript was burned. Grimm writes in December,
1754 : " Une femme qui vient de mourir a S. Germain en Laye avait entre
ses mains beaucoup de papiers du Comte Hamilton, qu'elle avait fort connue
dans sa jeunesse. Tous ces papiers ont et6 brtiles par ordre du confesseur.
Voila ce que M. de Crebillon m'apprit 1'autre jour avec les regrets que
meritait une telle perte. Comme il demeure a S. Germain, il avait fait
1' impossible pour sauver des restes si precieux d'une imagination si rare ;
mais le confesseur aurait plutdt passe a sa penitente les sept peches mortels
que de nous laisser un chiffon du Comte Hamilton. La suite des Quatre
Facardins etait parmi ces papiers. Quelle perte ! " (Correspondance de
Grimm, Diderot, Raynal, Meister, etc., Paris, 1877, Vol. II, p. 451.) The
story is also told with some variations at the end of the edition of the
Tales published in 1781 for the Comte d'Artois. Crebillon fils had once
been shown a number of Hamilton's papers by ' Mademoiselle Hamilton '
(this was probably Margaret Hamilton, John Hamilton's daughter), and
examining them he discovered among them the second part of the Quatre
Facardins. Unfortunately he left these papers with Miss Hamilton ; he
returned a short time afterwards to ask her for them, but they had been
THE TALES 265
when it no longer seemed likely that any more of Hamilton's
papers might be recovered, various authors, under the
impression that it was desirable and possible, undertook
to complete the unfinished tales. If Cresset really wrote
a sequel to the Quatre Facardins, as rumour would have
it, his would have been the earliest in date, but there is
no foundation for this tradition. It is the Due de Levis who
first, in 1812, continued and brought to a close the Quatre
Facardins and Zeneyde.* His continuations, the best
known ones, were followed by those of J. B. Champagnac
in 1825 an d m r e recently by a continuation of the Quatre
Facardins by ' le grand Jacques/ in 1868 and an anonymous
continuation published at Toulouse in 1883.
In England Monk Lewis wrote a fairly spirited sequel to
the Quatre Facardins, and not unfittingly prefixed to it the
lines,
" And by and by the second course
Comes lagging like a distant noise."
Wieland was after all not so far wrong when he remarked
in high-flown language that the completion of Hamilton's
tales by another than the author himself would be as
great an impossibility as that the famous Aphrodite should
be completed by another than Apelles. 2
burned in the interval. The writer gives Fontenelle as an authority for
this anecdote, and affirms that Fontenelle had it directly from Crebillon
fils, who was never tired of repeating it. Nor are these the only papers
of Hamilton's that perished, if the following anecdote may be believed.
" The late Earl of Clancarty, when still in his boyhood, had found access
to a chest in his grandfather's house in Ireland containing a vast quantity
of French letters addressed to his ancestor Mr. Le Poer by his dear friend
Count Antoine Hamilton, who had kept up a constant correspondence
with him for so many years and had written all that passed under his eye
in the court and camps of Louis XIV. . . . The young man was enchanted
with these letters, but at the time of his grandfather's death he was
unfortunately travelling on the Continent. On his return to Ireland he
made eager enquiries after the box, and with some difficulty he ascertained
that it had been removed a year or two before to the house of an old female
relation. As soon as his business left him leisure, Lord Clancarty posted
away to his aunt's residence. She remembered something of there being
such a box. ' Oh yes, it contains a great heap of old French letters ; it
is in the cellar.' To the cellar Lord Clancarty repaired, and there he found
indeed the well-remembered box, but falling to pieces from the effects of
the damp, and containing only a pulp of mouldy fragments on which the
writing could no longer be distinguished." (The Correspondence of Sir
Thomas Hanmer, London, 1838, Bunbury's Preface, p. vi.)
1 He stands condemned by Sainte-Beuve, "LeDuc de Levis qui a cru
les (the tales) continuer n'a ete qu'insipide." (Causeries du Lundi, I, p. 79.)
* Der neue Amadis (1777), p. 169 n.
CHAPTER IV j
MINOR WORKS
IT will perhaps appear to some that the term minor
works may well be applied to the tales that have
just been discussed, and that what remains to be
treated of Hamilton's writings hardly deserves to be
dignified by such a title. Be that as it may, there are some
not altogether despicable things among them.
These oeuvres di verses include the Relations veritables,
the Supplement aux Relations veritables, the Relation
d'une partie de chasse and the Relation d'un Voyage en
Mauritanie, together with various letters, epistles, poesies
diverses, chansons and a translation of Pope's Essay on
Criticism. The different Relations are amongst the most
graceful things Hamilton has ever written, and, as a critic
remarks, it is doubtful whether anyone except Thackeray
has ever done anything quite so good of its class. 1 Open
some of the little volumes of the Mercure Galant and read
two or three of the pedestrian ' Relations,' or take a number
of the Gazette de France for 1711, the year in which Hamil-
ton's Relations were written, and note the various news-
letters it contains : From Hamburg, October 23rd, 1711,
Stralsund beleaguered by the Danes. From Vienna, October
I7th, Preparations for the coronation of the Archduke.
From Madrid, October igth, News from the army of Cata-
lania. From Naples, October 6th, new taxes and imposi-
tions ; and so on. And then read Hamilton's miniature
gazette, the delightful little sketches that go under the
pompous name of Relations veritables de differ ents Endroits
d' Europe ; anything more unlike the official Relations
they parody can scarcely be imagined. Here, if anywhere,
Grimm's remark is in its place, " On n'a jamais prodigue
1 Professor Saintsbury, Fortnightly Review, October, 1890.
266
MINOR WORKS 267
plus d'esprit sur un fonds plus frivole et plus vain/' 1 With
imperturbable gravity the author describes the progress
of the Duke and Duchess of Berwick from Saint-Germain to
their property of Fitz-James ; he observes the precision
and conciseness of the Gazette, the respectful attitude
before the great that attributes infinite importance to the
most futile of their doings ; newsletters from St. Germain-
en-Laye, Louvres, Gonesse, Chantilly, Creil and Fitz-James
keep us informed of the movements of the Berwicks. The
Supplements show us the little court established at Fitz-
James, and in the Relation d'une partie de chasse we see
the ladies sighing over the fate of the poor stag, but re-
gretting the slowness of the dogs. " What would I not give
to have him escape," they say, but at the same time they
add, " The rascal, he still runs well ; it is to be feared that
they will not overtake him " ; they are glad not to be
present at the death and yet they think the hunters might
have called them ; they are summoned to the scene and
their eyes fill with tears, but they cannot withdraw their
gaze from the unhappy animal ; the fair, as Hamilton
would have us observe, were ever a strange mixture of
tenderness and cruelty. The remark is not without its
sting ; though the Relations are written to please the ladies
of Saint-Germain and Fitz-James, yet Hamilton's fair friends
are not allowed to escape unscathed.
The same light, often scarcely perceptible, irony marks
the earlier Relation d'un Voyage en Mauritanie, where,
under cover of the marvellous adventures of the travellers,
Hamilton is at liberty to indulge in his not always charit-
able malice. All these Relations are also a kind of imita-
tion of the famous Voyage de Chapelle et Bachaumont,
which served as a model to so many other amusing or
would-be amusing descriptions of travel. The fact that
Chapelle and Bachaumont's account was written alternately
in prose and verse had conferred a new popularity on this
' genre mixte.' Saint-Evremond and La Fontaine were
adepts at it. Hamilton followed their example in some of
his Tales and Relations, and he, in turn, became one of
Voltaire's models, as Voltaire himself tells us. 2 He suc-
ceeded best in the well-known Epitre a Monsieur le Comte
de Grammont, which was so immensely admired at the time ;
1 Correspondence, etc. (Paris, 1877), XI, p. 197.
2 (Euvres, XXXIII, p. 40.
268 ANTHONY HAMILTON
it forms a link between his more formal work and his
correspondence, for very few of his letters are wholly in
prose ;* unfortunately, for his prose is, as a rule, infinitely
preferable to his verse. His friends, of course, feel obliged
to answer in a similar manner, and even the Duke of Berwick,
away at war, finds time to compose fitting replies to the
poetic letters he receives.
Hamilton's letters 2 have been frequently quoted in the
first part of this essay ; sufficiently to give some idea of
their ease and grace. From what has been said, it will be
gathered that Hamilton's letters are not the spontaneous
productions that Madame de Se*vigne*'s are usually held
to be. Rather in the manner of Balzac and Voiture does
he polish and repolish them, knowing that they are eagerly
awaited, that his correspondents will read them to their
friends and that numerous copies will be demanded. Some
of the letters are of considerable length ; there is one to
Berwick, for instance, that takes up twenty pages in print.
Without being as laboured as some of Voiture's letters,
Hamilton's are, of course, not at all unlike those written
for the Hotel de Rambouillet ; as has been said elsewhere,
there is often something artificial and elaborate about them
which recalls Fontenelle's Lettres Galantes. We seldom
get much direct information, such letters as the one to
Henrietta Bulkeley describing the fete de Chatenay are
rare ; sometimes we get glimpses of the life at St. Germain
and then we have Hamilton at his best, but as often as not
we are given one of those allegorical compositions for which
we have lost all liking. Yet, in spite of these defects, the
bulk of the letters are quite worthy of the author of the
Memoires de Grammont ; one or two of them can be ranked
with the best produced in an age that had raised the writing
of letters to a fine art ; lastly, though there is no lack of
sources for a study of the life at St. Germain Dangeau
chronicles the movements of the exiled court ; Saint-Simon
gives us some invaluable information ; Madame de Sdvigne*
writes of the Stuarts with great feeling ; Madame de Main-
tenon with her usual common sense ; Madame de La Fayette
1 A notable exception are the more intimate letters to Henrietta
Bulkeley ; out of five letters only one is ornamented in this fashion.
* Mr. Stephen Gwynn translates some of them in part in a very able
article on Hamilton. (Macmillan's Magazine, May, 1898.)
MINOR WORKS 269
discreetly and without illusions, and Madame, mother
of the Regent, with her irrepressible frankness ; the letters
of Mary of Modena bear ample testimony to the life of
admirable patience and resignation led by some of the
exiles, while Matthew Prior gives a biassed account of the
troubles and discontent that reigned at Saint-Germain still,
these varied sources must be completed by Hamilton's
letters and epistles. The correspondences and diaries of
the time mention the Royal Family only, but it is Hamilton
who admits us to the intimacy of the courtiers, who takes
us into the vast gardens and on to the broad terrace ; who
shows us the ladies attired for the hunt or sitting with their
tapestry under the trees ; but for Hamilton we should have
known little of the social life of the English at Saint-Germain.
A certain amount of biographical interest also attaches
to Hamilton's poems. 1 Beyond this there is not very much
to be said of them ; we know that they were greatly admired
at the time, that they won for him the title of Horace
d' Albion at Sceaux, 2 that their publication, after Hamilton's
death, was eagerly demanded by some ' personages at
court,' 3 and that though, unlike his friends, Genest and
Campistron, he does not figure in Titon du Tillet's Parnasse
Francois, one greater, even Voltaire, gave his poetry un-
stinted praise. 4 But what Sainte-Beuve once remarked of
Gresset's poetry is no less true of Hamilton's : " Dans ce
courant verbeux ... on saisit au passage quelques vers
dignes d'etre retenus, mais aucun de ces traits dont le ton
chaud gagne en vieillissant. Qu'y faire ? le brillant tout
entier a peri, la fleur du pastel est des longtemps enlevee
et on ne distingue plus rien de la poussiere premiere a ces
ailes fanees du papillon." 5 Many of the poems were written
for certain tunes, well known at the time, but to-day their
name has no associations for us. Written for a small circle
of friends these vers de societe naturally abound in allusions
we can no longer understand. Already in 1731, twelve
1 As Gaston Paris once remarked, " la poesie personelle, quoi qu'on en
ait dit, aura toujours une valeur et un attrait sans pareils, une valeur de
document, un attrait de sympathie. (Villon, Les grands Scrivains franpais,
p. 149.)
2 Divertissemens de Seaux, p. 370.
3 Hamilton, (Euvres mettes (1731), Avis du Libraire.
4 (Euvres, X, p. 34 ; XIV, p. 78.
8 Portraits Contemporains (Michel Levy), V, p. 90.
270 ANTHONY HAMILTON
years after Hamilton's death, when they first appeared in
print, the publisher remarked that some explanatory notes
would really be necessary, but that some ' personnes de
consideration ' who figured in these poems had refused to
make themselves known. 1
We must also remember that Hamilton wrote in an age
which was altogether unpoetic, did not understand poetry
and even had serious doubts as to its efficacy, so much so
that an estimable defender 2 had to compose an ode on
les avantages de la rime. ' Elegant/ ' witty/ ' graceful/
' pleasing ' are the adjectives we apply to the verse of Hamil-
ton's friends, Chaulieu and La Fare, of his contemporaries,
Fontenelle, Saint-Aulaire, Senece, Vergier, La Motte and
others. They apply equally well to his own. In fact, some
of his rondeaux, especially the rondeau redouble written
for the Duchesse du Maine and that little lyric, " Celle
qu'adore mon coeur n'est ni brune ni blonde/' 8 compare
very favourably with anything written in the period of
1700 and 1720, a singularly poor one in the annals of French
poetry. Hamilton is at his best when he imposes on him-
self the restraint of certain fixed metrical structures ; other-
wise he wanders off into interminable lengths of octosyllabic
verse, and he is incapable of any such sustained effort. That
is why his Pyramide et le Cheval d'Or is such a failure,
that is why his epistles are so inferior to his letters in prose
and verse. In the latter, not only is the verse broken up
into more convenient lengths, but, as often as not, Hamilton
brings the passage of verse to an epigrammatic close, in
order to justify the sudden transition into prose. What
his contemporaries admired in these long stretches of verse
was the skill with which he employed the rime redoublee,
a proceeding artificial in the extreme, and though he does
not approach La Fontaine's astonishing Virelai sur les
Hollandais, still, a letter to La Chapelle, for instance, con-
tains a passage of thirty-one lines in which the same two
masculine and feminine rimes are employed, and shorter
passages are, of course, more numerous. Anything that
exercised their ingeniousness, anything that showed them
1 (Euvres vn&lies (1731), Avis du Libraire. Curiously enough, however,
the publisher considers that these (Euvres mtUes will be much more easily
understood by the general public than the contes which had appeared the
year before.
1 Lafaye.
' It has been delightfully translated by Mr, Austin Dobson,
MINOR WORKS 271
up as clever versifiers, was welcome to these poets of the
early eighteenth century.
About 1713 Hamilton composed his translation of the
Essay on Criticism and sent a copy to Pope, who acknow-
ledged it in the most complimentary terms and begged for
leave to have it printed. 1 ' General ' Anthony Hamilton,
as the youthful author styled him, did probably not with-
hold his permission, but, as a matter of fact, the French
translations that did appear in 1717, 1730 and 1736 were
by Robethon, private secretary to George the First, the
Abbe du Resnel and M. de Silhouette. For long the manu-
script of Hamilton's translation was lost, to the great
regret of those who knew about its existence through
Pope's letter ; 2 at the beginning of the nineteenth century
it was found by the publisher Renouard, who has given us
the best edition of Hamilton's works. He announced his
intention of printing it, but on closer examination thought
it not worth giving to the public ; still, in order to fulfil
his promise he had a fragment of about eighty lines appear
at the end of the above-mentioned 1812 edition, along
with the Due de Levis' continuation of the Fairy Tales.
What has become of the manuscript is not known. Hamil-
ton's translation, as far as we can judge from the fragment,
is long-winded in the extreme, and the conciseness, the
epigrammatic neatness of the original are completely
blurred. But if it does not add anything to Hamilton's
reputation, it is at least a proof of the keen interest which
things literary had for him even in his old age.
The various editions of Hamilton's works from 1749 to
1776 are composed of six volumes ; the editions of 1776
and 1777 have an additional volume of (Euvres melees
printed from manuscripts that were found among the
papers of Mademoiselle de Marmier, the daughter of his
niece, Margaret Hamilton. In this volume there appeared
a kind of philosophic essay, a dialogue entitled La Volupte,
which has since been reprinted, as being from the pen of
Hamilton. It is, however, by a certain Remond, known
as Remond le Grec, 3 and had already been printed in 1736
1 Pope, Works (London, 1886), Vol. X, pp. 103-104, Oct. loth, 1713.
* e.g. by the Abbe Goujet in his Biblioth&que franfaise, VIII, p. 236
(1744).
8 To distinguish him from his brothers Remond de Montmaur and
Remond do Saint-Mard, The latter was well known to Lady Mary Wortley
Montague and to Lady Stafford (v, Lady Mary's correspondence),
272 ANTHONY HAMILTON
in a Recueil de Divers Ecrits 1 with the title Agathon,
Dialogue sur la Volupte, Par Monsieur R . It is true
that the theories enunciated in La Volupte would certainly
not have been disavowed by Hamilton ; his biographers
would have welcomed this document had it only been
authentic ; but, on the other hand, the manner is not that
of Hamilton. La Fontaine once remarked of Voiture, that
he would have spoken even of Pluto and Proserpine ' en
un style enjoue.' 2 Hamilton would assuredly have used
a ' style enjoue ' in speaking of Aspasia and Agathon ;
the letters of Pausanias to his friend would have abounded
in graceful jeux d'esprit, but it would have lacked a certain
attractive simplicity which characterizes Remond's narra-
tive.
At a time when so much was circulated in manuscript
long before it was printed, it was often exceedingly difficult
to classify the papers of an author after his death, and to
distinguish between his own writings and those that were
merely copies of his friend's compositions. Mistakes were
inevitable and thus it happened that La Volupte was
attributed to Hamilton, that J. B. Rousseau's Roches de
Salisburi was included among his works and that one of
Malezieu's rondeaux was, and still is, believed to be by
Hamilton, though it appeared in print as early as 1712
with its author's name. 8 In 1736 there also appeared a
volume of Anecdotes de la Cour de France sous le regne
de Childeric which was falsely attributed to Hamilton. 4
Publishers not infrequently thus availed themselves of the
name of a popular author.
And now we leave Anthony Hamilton and his works.
Too much time and space, it may seem to some, have
been devoted to him ; but his is a curious and interesting
1 Published at Brussels. The Dialogue had. however, been written as
early as 1701 ; cf. a letter from Bayle to Marais, March 6th, 1702. (Bayle,
(Euvres (Amsterdam, 1729), III, p. 862.)
(Euvres, VII, p. 165.
8 In the Divertissetnens de Seaux, pp. 154-155. " Mai a propos ressusci-
tent en France," etc.
* Cf. the Bibliotheqtie universelle des Romans, February, 1776, p. 76,
and January, 1777, I, p. 78. The work is entered under the name of
Hamilton in the Catalogue des Livres imprimes de la Bibliotheque du Roy
(Paris, 1750) and in the MS. Catalogue now in use at the BibUotheque de
1' Arsenal,
MINOR WORKS 273
figure and he lived in a period fraught with peculiar interest
to the student of English history. Moreover, at a time
when close sympathies unite us to the nation that once and
again gave hospitable shelter to the exiled Stuarts, is it
not worth while to study this author who is claimed both
by the French and the English, and who, more than any
other of his countrymen, fell under the charm of that
French grace and culture which we, as a nation, are coming
more and more to realize ?
APPENDICES
APPENDIX I
(Copie de la capitulation qui fut faite le 2 Avril, 1671, avec
M. d'Hamilton, pour la levee d'un regiment d'infanterie
Irlandoise de 15 compagnies de 100 hommes chacune. 1 )
LE ROY ay ant resolu d' augment er les troupes d'infanterie
estrangere que Sa Maieste a presentement sur pied, et ayant
satisfaction des services qu'elle a receus des regimens Irlandois
qui ont este cy devant 4 sa solde, elle a pris resolution d'en
faire mettre un sur pied ; et le S r Comte d'Hamilton s'estant
offert d'en faire la levee et d'en prendre le commandement en
qualite de colonel, Sa Maieste 1'ayant eu bien agreable a faire
convenir avec luy des conditions suivantes.
Premierement, que led. S r Comte d'Hamilton levera dans
le plus bref temps qu'il pourra, un regiment d'infanterie Irlandoise
du nombre de quinze cens hommes en quinze compagnies de
cent hommes chacune, les officiers non compris ; scavoir, d'un
capitaine, deux lieutenans, un enseigne, trois sergens, sept
caporaux, dix lanspessades, cinquante mousquetaires et trente
piquiers.
Qu'ils seront tous d'age et de force convenable pour bien
servir, bien habillez, et armez seulement d'une bonne espe"e et
d'un baudrier.
Qu'il les fera passer dans le royaume a une ou deux fois, ou
plus s'il est necessaire, et les fera debarquer au Havre de Grace,
ou tel autre port de Normandie ou Picardie qu'il avisera, et les
y fera rendre tous dans la fin de Juillet prochain ou plus tard.
Que pour donner moyen aud S r Comte d'Hamilton de satisf aire
ponctuellement cette levee, Sa Maieste luy fera payer la somme
de trente trois livres pour soldat, qu'il fera debarquer effective-
ment dans le royaume, de la qualite susdite, habille et arme
comme il a este specific cy dessus, sans que led. S r Comte
d'Hamilton puisse pretendre aucune chose pour le trajet desdites
1 This capitulation is printed in Negotiations de M. le Comte d'Avaux en
Irlande, pp. 692-694, but as the book is extremely rare the capitulation is
given here for reference. Copies of the capitulation are preserved at the
Public Record Office, St. P., Dom., Entry Book 24, p. 51, and St. P.,
Ireland, Car. II, 330, No. 127.
277
278 ANTHONY HAMILTON
hommes, ny pour le nolage et fretage des barques et vaisseaux
qui les auront aportez.
Qu'& leur debarquement il se trouvera un commissaire des
guerres pour les recevoir, lequel en fera une reveiie exacte, le
signallera et rejettera ceux qui ne seront pas de qualite susdite,
et conduira ceux qu'il aura admis dans un quartier de rafraichisse-
ment proche du lieu ou ils auront debarque, dans lequel ils
demeureront pendant dix jours, apres lesquels il les fera acheminer
au lieu ou Sa Maieste* aura resolu de les faire tenir en garnison.
Ledit commissaire prendra soin de les faire armer et de faire
distribuer dans ledit lieu de rafraichissement ou en quelqu'autres
de leur route, les mousquetz, bandouillieres, et piques, a chaque
compagnie, et pour le nombre d'hommes qu'il y aura effective-
men t, et en outre leur fera fournir les vivres par estapes dans les
lieux de la dite route.
Que du jour qu'ils seront arrivez aud. lieu de garnison, Sa
Maieste* les fera payer de leur solde, a raison de neuf livres par
mois pour chaque soldat, et les hautes payes a proportion.
Quant aux officiers, ils toucheront leurs appointemens a raison
de cinq livres pour capitaine, quarante cinq sols pour le lieutenant,
et trente six sols pour enseigne par jour.
Et pour les officiers de 1'estat major il leur sera paye* la somme
de quatre cens livres pour tous par mois.
Que tous les officiers et soldats dud. regiment presteront a
leur debarquement ez mains dud. commissaire le serment de
bien et fidellement servir Sa Maieste*, envers et centre tous, sans
mil except e", fors contre le Roy de la Grande Bretagne.
Et pour donner moyen aud. S r Comte d'Hamilton et en son
absence, a celuy qui commandera led. regiment, de le maintenir
dans 1'ordre et la discipline militaire, la justice luy sera laisse*e
pour la faire exercer sur tous ceux dud. regiment en la mesme
maniere qu'il s'est pratique dans les autres regimens de la mesme
nation qui estoient cy devant a la solde de Sa Maieste*.
HAMILTON.
Fait a Versailles, le 2 Avril, 1671
APPENDICES 279
APPENDIX II
(Letter from George Hamilton to [Sir Joseph Williamson],
giving an account of the approach of the Imperial army on
September nth, 1673, Turenne's unsuccessful attempt to engage
the Imperialists in battle and the treachery of the Bishop of
Wiirtzburg.)
AU CAMP ENTRE WlRTSBOURG ET WERTEIM, 1
Ce 21' septembre [1673].
IE croyois Milord il y a dix jours que la premiere lettre que
iauroys Ihoneur de vous escrir vous auroyt rendu compte d'une
bataille, effectivement M r de Turene n'a jamais mieux crue
doner un combat que le n e de ce moy ayent este adverty que
les ennemys estoyent campes a trois heures de nous venoyent
nous chercher. Sur quoy M r de Turene net marcher toute la
cavalerie devan la nuict a cette fein de passer un grand defille
qui estoit devan nous et dabord quelle feut dens la plene il la
fit atandre linfanterie et le canon qui marcherent a minuit et
se trouverent a la petite pointe du iour le n e dens la plene ;
aussitost qu'il feust ase grand iour pour distinguer nous nous
trouvames marchent sur six collones quatre de cavalerie et deux
d'infanterie, a un heur de iour nous apersumes la fume du camp
enemy et vers les dix heures on raporta quils estoient en bataille
deriere une hauteur qui nous empeshoit de les voir quoy que
nous feusions dens un pays qui ne paroit que plenes et que nous
ne feusions qu'a une lieu d'eux. M r de Turene ^rouva apropos
de metre la Tannee en bataille ce qui feut faict en moyn de
demy heur, cestoit la plus belles chose du monde a voir demeler
ses six collones et ce reduir en si peu de temps en deux belles
lignes et dabord que cela feut faict on marsha en plene bataille
pour geigner cete hauteur entre nous et les enemys sur lequele
a nostre droit il y avoit un boy ou M r de Turene avoit done
ordre aux dragons de ce Jeter quent la premiere ligne [seroit] a
sinq cens pas de la hauteur ; nous marshames en cet ordres
iusques a la hauteur et quent nous en f eumes les maistre nous ne
vimes poin d' enemys pour nous la disputer, la verite est que
rarme imperiale estoit marshe devant le iours et que ce que Ton
avoit veue en bataille estoit sept escadrons qui fesoit leur arier-
guarde et comme ceux qui feurent les rescognoistre alerent par
1 R.O. St. P., Foreign, France, 138, ff. 80-84.
28o ANTHONY HAMILTON
nostre gauche dautant que par la il ny avoit point de boy et
qua la droit il y en avoit, Us virent les sept escadrons par le
flanc et creurent que tout ramie* estoit en bataille et que cestoit
leur eille droit quils avoit veue. Dabord que M r de Turene eut
apersu que 1'enemy estoit marshe et quil avoit pry vers le Mein
qui estoit sur notre gauche il detacha quelques coureurs pour
recognoistre leur marche et a mesme temps fit marcher les
deux lignes par la gauche et marcher com cela, leur deux colones
costoyent tousiours la marche des enemys et cete nuict nous
campames en bataille. Les coureurs que Ion avoit envoye pour
prandre ramenerent sinq ou six chariots des enemys et quelques
prisoniers qui ne seurent rien dir des intansions de leur arme*.
Le landemin qui fut le 12 nous marchames a la pointe du iour
sur six collones et a dix heures les coureurs raporterent qu'ils
avoient veue le camp des enemys. Dabord on ce mit en bataille
comme le iour precedent en intension de les forser au combat
s'il y avoit cue moyen et Ton marsha com cela iusques a ce que
Ion ce trouvat en plene bataille iustement devant eux qui dabord
quils nous virent sortirent de leur camp et ce posterent sur une
hauteur, une grand ravin devent eux, leur infenterie dans un
boy, leur deux eilles de cavalerie dens des champs horde's de boys
et devant eux toute vigne de sorte qua moin destre un arme*
doyseaux il n'y avoit pas moyen d'aller a eux ; cepandant nous
demeurames toutes les deux arme*s en bataille iusques a la nuit ;
il ce passa quelque scaremouche aux guardes de cavalerye ou il
n'y eut rien de remarquable Le landemin au matin 13 M r de
Turen voyent que leur intension nestoit pas de combatre a la
pointe du jour recognoistre un camp ou nous pensions estre
comodement et vers les dix heures nous fit marcher et nostre
camp ne ce trouva qu'une demi lieu plus loin de 1'enemy que
1'autre, les deux camps estent en veu 1'un de 1'autre. Nous y
restames iusques a hier et nous y serions demeure* plus long-
temps si M r de Viertsbourg eut tenue la parole qu'il avoit
donne* a M r de Turene de ne point doner de pasage aux troupes
de 1'ampereur moyenent quoy nos deriers estoient en surete et
nos convoys qui nous devoynt venir de verteim ou nous avions
nos magasins de farines ne nous auroient peu manquer, cependant
M r de Viertsbourg manquent a sa parole a done* pasage aux
enemis qui ont pry soisente de nos quesons et ont envoye quinse
cens hommes a Verteime qui ont guate* toutes nos farines et ce
sont retires. Cest ce qui nous a faict decamper et nous venir
poster isi entre virtsbourg et verteim de peur que les enemys
ne ce sesisent de ce dernier lieu dont Monsieur de Turen ce veut
aseurer pour y fair ses provisions ; cest une place sur le mein
et ou le taubre ce iette dens le mein. II a envoye* auiourd'huy
le compte de Guiche avece douse cens dragons, mille shevaux
et deux pieces de canons ce sesir de Marandale pour fair la un
APPENDICES 281
magasin et il pretent estre maistre du taubre et du mein par la,
car il a encor chaf ambourg sur le mein ou il y a un pon de pierre
et ou nous avons quatre cens dragons et bishofsheim sur le
taubre ou il y a un pon tellement que nous avons les derriers
libres et aparament nous observerons de pre ce que feront les
enemys.
Je vauderoys de tout mon coeur Milord vous avoir moyn
enuye, ie vous asseure si iavois peu mieux observer ce qu'il y
avoit isi a voir quoy qu'il n'y a pas eu de bataille ie suis seur
que le detail vous auroit faict plesir. Ce que jay fort observe est
que les sujets du Roy qui sont isi ne feront pas de honte a la
nasion car ie nay jamais veue gents fair voir plus de bone volonte
et asseurement quent sen viendera au faict ils responderont fort
bien a tout ce que M r de Turen aten d'eux. Celuy qui vous done
celle-sy est mon paran et capitaine dens mon regimen qui vous
pourra rendre un compte ase exact de ce qui sest pase isi, il a
des afairs en irland pour quelque temps et aura aseurement
besoin de votre protection ce que ie vous suplie tres humblement
Milord de luy acorder en luy donent une lettre pour le vise Roy
d'irland en sa faveur. Je vous demande tres humblement pardon
pour cet longue letre de laquelle vous nauries pas este importune
si ie navois creue que vous auries este bien aise de savoir a peu
pre Test at de toutes choses isi ce que ie ne manqueray pas de
vous fair savoir par toutes les comodites que ien auray et suis
Milord plus entierement qhomme du monde vostre tres humble
et tres obeisent serviteur.
G. HAMILTON.
APPENDIX III
(Copie d'une lettre escrite par M. Anthoine d'Hamilton a
M. de Ruvigny le 13 Avril, 1675, a Dublin. 1 )
MONSIEUR, Depuis que je suis en Irlande j'ay eu tant d'affaires
que je n'ay pu me donner 1'honneur de vous escrire que quand
une necessite indispensable m'y portoit, on ne peut pas au
monde avoir plus de malheur que ce qui nous n' arrive ici dans ce
que nous avons entrepris pour le service de sa majeste tres
chretienne, car apres avoir assemble neuf cens trente bons
hommes au port de Dingle et les avoir fait subsister pres de
1 Archives du Minist&re de la Guerre, Vol. 440, No. 109. Another copy
is preserved in Vol. 467, No. 92.
282 ANTHONY HAMILTON
quinze jours au dela du terme prefixe pour nostre embarque-
ment, j'ay est contraint de les congedier voyant qu'il n'y
avoit point de nouveiles des vaisseaux que nous attendions
le 8 de mars et que nous estions au 27 alors. J'ay emprunt
mils escus ici pour la subsistance de ce nombre de soldats
et par le soin de nos officiers ils n'ont point commis de
de"sordre dans le pays autour du rendez-vous. Et nous
nous estions comportls avec asses de circonspection pour
qu'il ne vint point d'information de nostre proce*d au Vice Roy,
mais malheureusement les vaisseaux sont arrives quand nous ne
les attendions plus et abordant a. Kingsale ont fait plus d' eclat
qu'ils ne devroient avoir fait, si bien que sur les avis qui en ont
e*te* envoy a S. Ex 06 ici il a envoye* ordre de mettre en arrest
touttes personnes qui leveroient ou assembleroient du monde.
Et les officiers a qui j'avois envoye* ordre de rassembler le monde
sur la nouvelle de 1' arrived des vaisseaux ont e*t arrest ez a
Kingsalle et me 1'ont envoy dire ce qui m'a fait venir ici en
toutte diligence ou j'ay obtenu ordre de les faire eslargir me
rendant caution pour eux. Tout ce que je vois de possible a
present que 1'affaire a fait tant de bruit est de tascher de rassem-
bler ce que nous pourrons de monde du debris des dernieres
recrues et de tascher malgre* la garde exacte qu'on fait a tous les
ports de les embarquer de nuit. Pour cet effet j'ai envoye* ordre
aux officiers d'y travailler incessamment mais comme j'ay
emprunte* tout 1'argent que le credit de mes amis m'avait pu
fournir pour ce sejour des recrues que j'ay eu sur les bras, j'ay
este* contraint, Monsieur, de prendre ici cent livres sterlins
que je vous suplie tres humblement de vouloir payer a celuy qui
vous portera ma lettre de change. J'ay cru, Monsieur, qu'il
estoit de mon devoir de vous advertir de tout cecy afin que
1'on ne nous imputast point un retardement qui nous coute bien
de 1'argent et du chagrin est ant aussi ze*le*s que nous sommes
pour le service du Roy, je feray partir les vaisseaux au premier
bon vent et les officiers, car pour des soldats le nombre en sera
je crois mediocre. Je suis etc.
APPENDICES 283
APPENDIX IV
(Letter from Gramont to the first Duke of Ormonde. 1 )
1682, AUGUST 2, Paris. Mouscri ma dit que vous series bien
ayse Monsieur d' avoir des pillules pour la goute, ie me suis
informe de M r le due Daumon, du marechal d'Humieres et de
plusieurs autres s'ils s'en trouvent bien affin de ne vous envoyer
pas une chose qui peut vous faire du mal, ils m'ont tous asseure*
quils navoint pas eu de goutte depuis quils en prenoint, et que
cestoit une chose si innoscente qui ne pouvoit iamais vous faire
du mal, il n'en faut pas prendre dans le grand chaut, iay escrit
a celluy qui les fait pour vous en envoyer pour six mois elles sont
bonnes iusques a ce temps la, ie vous promets quan quelque
endroit que vous soyes en aures en Monsieur vostre provision
iauray toujours soing de la sante de mon oncle qui est cogneu
par tout le monde pour le plus parfait, le plus galant, et le plus
honneste homme du monde.
Le Comte de Gramont ie ordonne a Mouscri de vous demander
pour moy deus bons chevaus. Depuis la reprimande que vous
me fites que iecrivois mal ie fait la depance dun secretaire.
1 Hist. MSS. Comm., MSS. of the Marquess of Ormonde, N.S., Vol. VI,
p. 4 1 3 . The last paragraph is in a different handwriting from the remainder
of the letter. Another letter to Ormonde is printed in Vol. Ill, p. 196
(August 15, 1665). A few other letters are preserved as follows :
At Knole Park, Co. Kent, three letters to Lord Fitzharding (1664 and
1665) ; cf. Hist. MSS. Comm., 4th Report, Appendix, p. 276.
At the Public Record Office, St. P., Dom., Car. II, Vol. 103, No. 109,
to Williamson, 1664. St. P., Dom., Car. II, Vol. 109, No. 31, to
Williamson ? 1664 ?
At Montagu House, Whitehall, a letter to Arlington, Dec. i7th, 1670,
given supra p. 40 ; cf . Hist. MSS. Comm., Report on the Buccleuch MSS.
I, p. 490.
In the Morrison Collection, a billet to Foucquet, n.d. ; a letter to
Lionne, July i2th, 1670 ; a letter to ? ce vandredi matin ; cf. A. W.
Thibaudeau's Catalogue (1885), II, pp. 197, 198.
Among the papers of the Due de la Tremoille, a letter to ? printed
in Saint-Simon (ed. des Grands Ecrivains), XIV, p. 565.
Copies of two letters to Lionne are at the Archives des Affaires Etran-
geres, viz. Corr. Pol., Angleterre, Vol. 99, f. 223, July ist, 1670, cf. p. 38
supra; Corr. Pol., Angleterre, Vol. 99, ff. 245, 246, July I2th, 1670 (the
original being in the Morrison Collection), cf. pp. 37, 38 supra.
Gramont's letters to Bussy are printed with Bussy's Lettres (ed. Lalanne)
Vol. I, pp. 48, 51, 55, 89, 226, 257 ; Vol. IV, p. 184, and probably Vol. VI,
pp. 444, 450.
The above is by no means intended to be an exhaustive list of Gramont's
letters.
284 ANTHONY HAMILTON
APPENDIX V
(Memoire pour le Sr. Comte de Grandmont s'en allant de la
part du Roy en Angleterre. 1 )
LE Roy ayant tousjours conside*r la naissance d'un prince de
Galles comme le plus grant sujet de satisfaction que dieu puisse
donner au Roy d'Ang re Sa Ma 1 * n'en a pas plustot apris la
nouvelle par les lettres du S 1 Barillon Son Ambassadeur aupres
dud 1 Roy qu'Il n'a nomine* Led* S* Comte de Grandmont pour
aller temoigner auxd. Roy et Reyne de la grande bretagne que
non seulement elle s'interesse sincerement a la joye commune
mais de plus qu'elle la ressent aussy vivement qu'eux mesme
et comme Sa Ma" ne pouvoit choisir une personne dans sa cour
qui fust plus agre*able que led. Comte a celle d'Angleterre ny
mieux marquer la grande part qu'elle prend & ce qui touche le
plus le Roy et la Reyne que de faire partir led. Comte de Grand-
mont avant meme qu'ils ay 1 donne* part a Sa Ma* de cette bonne
nouvelle, elle est bien persuade*e aussy qu'il scaura mieux
qu'aucun autre accompagner de toutes les expressions les plus
obligeantes et les plus agre*ables ces tesmoignages que le Roy
donne aud. Roy et Reyne d'une amiti cordiale et d'une tres
veritable estime. Apres que led 1 S* Comte de Grandmont se
sera acquitte* de ces premiers compliments et de ceux que 1'usage
de cette cour demande, qu'il fasse de la part de Sa Ma" a la
Reyne Douairiere d' Ang re , au prince et a la princesse de Danemark
qui ne consistent qu'aux assurances ge'ne'rales de 1'estime et
de 1'affection de Sa Ma". II taschera pendant le se*jour qu'il
fera & cette cour et que sa Ma" laisse a sa liberte* de prolonger
ou d'accourcir, de prendre une exacte connaissance du veritable
est at de ce gouvernement, des mesures que le Roy d'Angleterre
prend pour se guarantir de toutes les entreprises que le Prince
d'Orange ou ses partisans pourraient faire centre luy dans la
conjoncture pre*sente, le nombre de vaisseaux que led. Roy peut
presentamment (sic) mettre en mer et de quelle maniere ils
seront armez et equipez, combien il a de troupes sur pied, s'il
est bien assure* de tous les officiers qui les commandent, si les
grandes places qu'il a sont bien garnies d'hommes et de toutes
les munitions necessaires et enfin tout ce qu'il peut esperer ou
craindre tant du dehors que du dedans de son royaume.
1 Archives du Ministere des Affaires Etrangdres, Corr. Pol. Angleterre,
165, ff. 382, 383.
APPENDICES 285
Led. S 1 " Comte de Grammont se servira aussy de son adresse
pour tascher de decouvrir quels sont les principaux chefs des
factions opposees au Roy et a la Religion Catholique et s'il se
trouve en conversation avec eux il se servira de ses manieres
insinuantes pour penetrer leur veritable dessein et la conduite
qu'ils pretendent tenir pour empescher que le Roy d'Angleterre
ne vienne a bout des siens. C'est tout ce que sa majeste desire
de Implication dud. Comte de Grammont en execution de ses
ordres a la cour d'Angleterre et elle sera bien ayse qu'il la puisse
informer a son retour de toutes les connoissances qu'il aura
prises.
Endorsed. Memoire servant d'instruction a M. le Comte de
Grandmont allant de la part du roy en Angleterre.
Du 25 e Juin, 1688 a Vers.
APPENDIX VI
(Letters from James II to Richard Hamilton before London-
derry. 1 )
1. JAMES R.
Trusty and wellbeloved Wee greet you well. Wee do hereby
empower you to give safe conducts and protection to as many
of those people in Inisown, as will surrender up to you their
horses and armes and promise for the future to live peaceably
and honestly under our Government. Given at our quarters at
St. Johnston's this iQth day of April, 1689, and in the fifth
year of our Reigne.
By his Majesty's command.
MELFORT.
To Richard Hamilton, Lieut. -General of Our Forces.
2 . JAMES R.
Trusty and well beloved Wee greet you well. Wee had
yester-night the account you sent us of that action before Derry
and of the death of the Marquis de Maumon our Lieut. Generall
at which wee are most extremely concerned as being one of that
merite which had intirely gained Our Royall favour and esteme
for whose death wee are heartily sorry. Let nothing be wanting
to show the favour wee had for him or befitts his quality, especi-
1 Royal Irish Academy, Dublin, MS. 24, G.I.
286 ANTHONY HAMILTON
ally you are to have his body embalmed and either sent with
a fitting guard immediately to Dublin, or kept with you till
affairs there be over that more of the Generall officers may come
along with it. At this time Wee must put you in mind that
it is not for you that are our Generall officers to expose your-
selves in all occasions a thing quite contrary to the welfare of
our service, you are juges when it is necessary but you are
expressly ordered not to doe it in other occasions, of w ch you are
[a large inkstain on the next word ; " yourself "?] to advertise
our other generall officers y* are with you. The other canon
and amunition wee mett yesterday betwixt Dungannon and
Omagh whom wee ordered to make all imaginable haste toward
you though wee hope now that you have a miner and that
Monsieur de Pointis is to be with you this night, the matter of
Derry may be speedily over. Wee noways doubt of your diligence
and so wee bid you farewell. Given at our quarters at Charle-
mont the 23rd day of April, 1689, and in the fifth yeare of Our
Reigne.
By His Majesty's Command,
MELFORT.
3. JAMES R.
Our will and pleasure is hereby to authorize and Impower you
to receive the submission of such persons as are now in actuall
armes and rebellion against us in our City of Londonderry and
in pursuance of such submission to give them or any of them
that you shall judge deserving of our mercy and favour full
pardon and indempnity of and from all manner of crimes and
missfeizances and whatsoever done or committed against Us
or Our authority, or against the naturall allegiance they owe Us
and their sovereigne lord, and they demeaning themselves for
the future as dutiful and loyall subjects to protect them and
every of them from all manner of violence, or force, and to grant
unto them all such other termes and conditions as to you in
your judgement shall seem meet and best for our service :
Provided allways that the said persons soe in armes against us
as afforesaid shall yield up and surrender our said City of Lon-
donderry to you or any other officer-in-chief commanding Our
army before the same togeth r with their armes and ammunition,
and such habliments of warr as are now in that our City as also
their serviceable horses, and Wee do hereby ratify and confirme
all termes and conditions matters or things whatsoever which
shall be granted by you to the said persons. Given at our Court
at our Castle of Dublin the first day of May, 1689.
By His Majesty's Command,
MELFORT.
APPENDICES 287
4. JAMES R.
Our will and pleasure is that so soon as the ammunition sent
from this to the Camp shall be arrived there, the horses and carrs
that transported the same thither be immediately sent back to
our City of Dublin with a sufficient guard and passe, reserving
our own horses employed with the Artillery still neare our Camp.
Given at our Court at Dublin Castle ye i4th of May, 1689.
By His Majesty's Command,
MELFORT.
5. JAMES R.
Trusty and well beloved Wee greet you well. Whereas wee
are informed y* several! of those Regiments now with you in
our Camp before Derry have not their full complement of men
w 011 cannot but be very prejudicial! to our service, Wee would
have you upon the receipt hereof to cause an exact muster to
be made of what forces you have w to you, and to returne unto
us the Muster Rolls thereof, and as to such Regiments as you
shall find as to want their complement you are to informe us
from whence it proceeds, if they have any companyes else where
or detatchments made out of them, and of such as you shall
find to want men you are to send such officers as you shall judge
fittest that they may w th all speed make such leavyes as may
be necessary for recruiting and filling up of the said regiments.
And soe not doubtyinge of your ready complyance with these
our Orders Wee bid you heartily farewell.
Given at our Court at Dublin Castle this 28th of May, 1689.
By His Majesty's Commands,
MELFORT.
6. JAMES R.
Trusty and well beloved Wee greet you well. Having made
choice of Generall d'Auffroy and sent him to our army under
your command as generall of the provisions for our army wee do
hereby require you receive him as such and to assigne him such
places as shall be most convenient for lodging his provisions
and to give him what other assistance shall be necessary for our
service and so not doubting of your ready obedience to these
our orders wee bid you heartily farewell. Given at our Court
of Dublin Castle this fourth day of June, 1689.
By His Majesty's Commands,
MELFORT.
288 ANTHONY HAMILTON
7. JAMES R.
Trusty and well beloved Wee greet you well. The circum-
stances wee find you are in by the account you sent us by Edward
Vaudry has made us think it fit to change our Resolutions in
relation to Iniskillen against which Wee were resolved to employ
the Marquis de Rozen w^ 1 the Regiments under his command,
namely the Earl of Clincarthy's, Creagh and S* John Fitzgerald's
Regiment of Foot, One troop of the Lord Galmoy's and LutterelTs
Regiment of horse, One troop of Dungan's Dragoons and the
Regiment of Dragoons of Purcell if they could in time have come
up. But now that wee find the need you have of a timely and
considerable supply Wee have thought it fitt to order him to
march directly to Strabane or Lyfford believing y* the matter of
the greatest importance to us on y* side is to hinder the English
from landing. W ch if you are not able to doe alone the troops
wee now send wee hope will come in time to your assistance.
Wee cannot but be extremely sorry for soe many good officers
that have been killed or wounded upon this late occasion but you
must doe what you can to hinder our people from losing heart
such accidents being naturall to the employment you are about.
Wee have despatched away a considerable number of officers
of our own subjects as well as French who wee hope will be useful
to you. Wee are resolved to send the rest of Butler's regiment
to-morrow and the day after Grace's and Bonn's soe these
arriving near the same time that the Marquis de Rozen will be
neare you, wee hope shall be sufficient to take the towne even
though Kirke should be gott in. This conjuncture of our affaires
does so nearly concerne us that we order you to send by foot
posts from Garrison to Garrison Intelligence to Us once a day
for the expence of \v^ h wee allow two pence a mile going and
coming y l shall be soe employ'd to be paid by the respective
governors and allow'd by us to them upon the muster of each
garrison. Wee are sensible of y r good service you have done us
already and doubt not of the continuance of your zeale and
affection to us and soe we bid you heartily farewell. Given at
our Court at Dublin Castle this 8th day of June, 1689.
By His Majesty's Command,
MELFORT.
8. JAMES R.
Trusty and well beloved, Wee greet you well. Wee have
thought fitt to give you notice that having agreed w th one to
supply our armyes in generall and that under your command in
particular w th what provisions shall be necessary, he was by his
agreement to begin to furnish the same the eleventh of the
APPENDICES 289
month of June in which if he shall faille Wee hereby require you
to give us notice, and soe not doubting your zeale and readiness
in obeying this and all our orders Wee bid you heartily farewell.
Given at our Court at Dublin Castle this loth day of June, 1689.
By His Majesty's Commands,
MELFORT.
9. JAMES R.
James the Second by the Grace of God King of England,
Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, etc. To
our trusty and well beloved Richard Hamilton Lieut. Generall
of our Army. Greeting.
Whereas wee have through the whole course of our Reigne
endeavoured to reduce our subjects to their duty by clemency
rather than force wee are att this time resolved to give an
addittional instance thereof in regard to our subjects of the
Protestant religion now in armes against us. Wee do therefore
authorize and empower you to treat with our said subjects now
in armes against us for the rendering up of our City of London-
derry into our hands or that of InniskiLlen or any other town or
castle of this our kingdom now in their possession upon such
terms as you shall think fitt for our service wh shall be ratified
by Us without exception whatever they may be, notwithstanding
of any crime, fault or treason committed by any of the said
persons or their adherents, and notwithstanding of any law or
act of parliament made or to be made for all whom wee promise
hereby to protect and free them in all times after the concluding
of such termes betwixt you and them as you shall think fitt for
our service to grant.
Given at our Court at Dublin Castle this 5th day of July, 1689.
By His Majesty's Commands,
MELFORT.
10. JAMES R.
Trusty and well beloved Wee greet you well. You are immedi-
ately upon the receipt of these our instructions and the power
Wee have granted you by our commission of the same date, to
informe the rebels of our City of Derry of the power wee have
sent you. You shall let them know that if they doe not now
yield to such propositions as you shall offer to them wee will
hereafter exclude them from ever partaking of our Royall mercy.
You are to endeavour to give them as little as possibly can be,
but rather than not get the towne delivered to Us you shall
give them their lives, fortunes, our Royall pardon for all thats
past and protection as others our subjects have in time to come
290 ANTHONY HAMILTON
and that none shall dare to trouble or molest them in their houses,
estates, persons, religions or professions whatsoever they de-
livering the Citty into our possession, or if they include those of
Iniskillen that place or any other treated for be in the same manner
delivered to us. You are to send us an immediate account of
what answer they give you and soe from time to time until the
affaire shall be concluded. Given at our court of Dublin Castle
the fifth day of July, 1689.
By His Majesty's Commands,
MELFORT.
11. JAMES R.
Trusty and well beloved Wee greet you well. Whereas wee
are informed y* the Rebels now in Derry offered to surrender
the towne to us if they might be assured leave to goe into the
ships now before Colmore with theire armes and baggage wee
cannot believe there was any such proposition made seeing you
nor the Marquis de Rozen said nothing of it in any of your
letters, but much less because it was not accorded which was soe
much for our service that wee are confident you would not
have been so far oversein as to refuse it to them which if they
shall again require and that you find they would yield if you
grant it and will not yield without it you are not to delay bringing
the town into our possession upon that accompt but positively
to grant that to them that they may goe on board the rebels
ships with their baggage and armes. Of which you are not to
faile and for your granting them this condition when they shall
require it this shall be your warrant. Given at our Court at
Dublin Castle this 8th day of July, 1689.
By His Majesty's Commands,
MELFORT.
12. JAMES R.
Trusty and well beloved, Wee greet you well. Wee are not a
little surprized to hear that the ammunition and tooles which
Wee sent from hence to Charlemont there to waite your orders
if you should have occasion for them, doe yet remain in y* our
Fort notwithstanding that you have been informed of their
being there. And wee have therefore sent our express orders
to our Governor there to dispatch them away to you w 01 all
speed. And soe not doubting of your dilligence in pressing the
towne the having of which in our hands is of soe great an im-
portance to our affaires, Wee bid you heartily farewell.
Given at our Court in Dublin Castle this nth day of July, 1689
By His Majesty's Commands,
MELFORT.
APPENDICES 291
13. [This letter is the same as letter 9 sent on July 5th.]
Given att our Court att Dublin Castle this I2th day of July,
1689.
By His Majesty's Commands,
MELFORT.
14. JAMES R.
The long continuance of the seige of Derry has been of soe ill
consequence to our affaires that though wee beleeve that you
have done what you thought best for our service, yet we doe think
fitt hereby to will and require you that if the City of Londonderry
shall not yeeld on the conditions wee have offered you may in
your station be assisting to the Marquis de Rozen in the pressing
of it with all the vigor imaginable that no time may be lost in
bringing it into our power and that all care be taken that all
officers and soldiers concerned doe their dutys incumbent upon
them punctually and vigorously for which reason wee think fitt
that you should inform all our officers and soldiers there of what
wee expect from them that all may unite in going on cheerfully
in an affaire theirs and our interest is soe much concerned in.
Wee expect this from them and that a new life and vigor shall
appear in every one assuring all who shall behave themselves
well of our favour and care of them as occasion shall serve and
such as doe otherwise shall feel the effects of our just and highest
displeasure. Wee doe not question your care in these things,
your conduct or dilligence and therefore wee bid you heartily
farewell.
Given att our Court att Dublin Castle this I2th day of July,
1689.
By His Majesty's Commands,
MELFORT.
15. JAMES R.
Trusty and well beloved wee greet you well. It is of the utmost
importance in the world to us that Derry should be taken before
any relief can come to it and that it may be soon done you are
to use your utmost endeavours and beleeve that more men will
be saved by attacquing this towne briskly tho wee should lose
men in the doeing of it than by prolonging the matter, therefore
in the first place you are to press it with all the vigor and applica-
tion imaginable but if you and our other generall officers find that
it is not to be taken by force then you are to menage our men
so as not to needlessly oppose them but you are to continue the
blockade as long as it shall be possible with safety every day
being of importance for it is probable that they have not much
292 ANTHONY HAMILTON
provision after the 26th of y e month, and winds are so uncertain
at sea that tho the forces in England were ready to imbarke yet
they might come too late by cross weather. You are to cause
mine the country all about Deny least if ane invasion come you
have not the time to doe it, and that you may the easier gett off
at all events, you are to send your seake and wounded as f arr this
way as you can. And if after all as God forbid you should be
forced to leave a place that has cost us soe many men and soe
much time then you must think to guard the passages on the
river on this side as well as can be and if the Duke of Berwick
has not already been sent towards Iniskillen and that if it be
thought fitt to inforce that party and send it there to prosecute
the former designe wee had upon that place and which wee
doubt not would have succeeded. Wee have sent the Guidon
of our Guards to inform you more fully in these matters and that
giving you no positive commands wee leave all those affaires
to the Marquis de Rosen and yourself with the other generall
officers to doe what shall be judged best for our service and soe
wee bid you heartily farewell.
Given att our Court att Dublin Castle this 20th of July, 1689.
By His Majesty's Commands,
MELFORT.
16. JAMES R.
Trusty and well beloved, wee greet you well. Whereas wee
understand by your letters of the 2oth informed that it is the
opinion of all the generall officers that its impossible to take
the towne of Deny but by famine, wee have thought fitt not to
wait Major Neugent's return but to send you our orders con-
cerning the same seeing that Deny cannot be taken by force
with the small number of men its beseiged by. Our will and
pleasure is that as soon as you receave this you prepare for
raising the seige and then actually raise it unless you be of the
opinion that in continuing the blockade the towne will be forced
to yeeld for want of provision which in all appearance must
happen very shortly since by their last proposals the offered to
surrender the 26th of this month which if you beleeve to be so
you are to continue the blockade as long as you shall think it
for the good of our service. You are before your departure from
befor Deny to cause blow up the Fort of Colmore that it may not
stand in our way ane other time. You will see what our inten-
tions are by the duplicata of our latter to the Marquis de Rosen
which we have ordered to be sent to you. Seeing that Ingeniers
in appearance will be but of small use to you now you are to
order the Ingeniere Burton to goe to Charlemont and to take
ane exact plan of that place and adjacent grounds which with
APPENDICES 293
all convenient speed he is to bring to us that wee may give our
further orders thereupon. Wee doubt not but you will do what
may be best for our service in all things and soe we bid you
heartily farewell. Given att our Court att Dublin Castle this
22nd day of July, 1689.
By His Majesty's Commands,
MELFORT.
17. JAMES R.
Trusty and well beloved wee greet you well. There is come
as he pretends a master of a ship who informes that the Marshal
Schomberg with ane army of twenty thousand men whereof
there are four thousand Hollanders, two thousand Germans
and the Prince of Orange's Dragoons is to come to this our
kingdome in ten or twelve days. Wee have all imaginable reasons
to beleeve this fellow is a rogue and therefore have ordered him
to be kept prisoner here, and yet wee thought fitt to informe you
of it that you may doe what may be best for our service in the
present circumstance of our affaires. Considering the necessity
there is to cause recrute our forces to make a vigorous resistance
against these rebels our former orders containing all that wee can
say upon this subject wee bid you heartily farewell. Given att
our Castle of Dublin this 29th day of July, 1689.
By His Majesty's Commands,
MELFORT.
18. JAMES R.
Trusty and well beloved wee greet you well. Now that
Londonderry is relieved it is of importance for our service that
all imaginable diligence be made in bringing a considerable body
of men to this place where or neere to which wee are informed
the enemy will land if they can. Wee approve of the resolution
of burning and destroying all you mention and retiring on this
side of Charlemont. It is of importance that Coleraine should be
kept and therefore wee think it fitt that such troops as you
think best be sent there and where else you shall think fitt on the
Ban Water and that S* Charles Karney go to Coleraine to com-
mand till our further orders. Wee doubt not but you have already
given orders to the Duke of Berwick w* he is to doe in regard
of the Rebells of Baleshannon and Eniskiling if you have not
wee leave it to you upon the place to give what orders you shall
think best for our service giving us ane immediate account of
what you have done or shall doe in that matter. You shall send
hither straight the batallion of the guards, that of our right
trusty and right entirely naturall son Henry Fitz-James, that
of Neugent, the detatchment of Grace and the L d Mayor's
294 ANTHONY HAMILTON
Regiment and you shall leave at Charlemont what you shall
think fitt to defend the passage of the river under the command
of Gen. Major Buchan, and yourself to come to this our City
and attend our orders. You are to give y e necessary orders for
recruiting the horse foot and dragoons as much as can be and to
reassemble those who have been hid in the mountains and you
are to cause publish our orders to bring back the deserters that
none may pretend ignorance. Wee have no doubt of your care
in whatsoever concerns our power and soe wee bid you farewell.
Given att our Court att Dublin Castle this 31 day of July, 1689.
By His Majesty's Commands,
MELFORT.
19. JAMES R.
Our will and pleasure is that you send as soon as you see
convenient the Regiment of Dragoons commanded by the L d
Dungan into quarters which you shall judge proper for their
refreshment and recruiting there to continue till our farther
order. And hereof you are not to faile.
Given att our Court att Dublin Castle this 31 day of July, 1689.
By His Majesty's Command,
MELFORT.
20. JAMES R.
Trusty and well beloved wee greet you well. Just now wee
have the news from some officers that the Rebells of Iniskilling
have defeated our forces under the command of Mountcashel
near Belturbet of which we think fitt to advise you that you
may loose no time in posting our army on this side of the river
at Charlemont and that you march hither with the rest with all
diligence the time of the enemy's fleet drawing near. By this
morning we hear of their fleet arriving at Chester, Liverpool, etc .
from Bristol and the southward and that there are already twenty-
two men of war at the Isle of Man which is the place of their
rendevous. You are therefore to loose no time in putting our
affairs in the best position you can and advise the Duke of
Berwick of what has happened and giving him such orders as
may be best for our service and appointing him in some safe
manner to inform Sarsfield of what has happened that he may
doe what is best for our service. Not doubting your care in all
this matter and what also relates to the weal of our affaires wee
bid you heartily farewell.
Given att our Court att Dublin Castle this first day of August,
1689.
By His Majesty's Commands,
MELFORT.
APPENDICES 295
21. JAMES R.
Trusty and well beloved wee greet you well. The evill conse-
quences that unluckie affaire of the Viscounte Mountcashell
may have makes it still more necessary for our service that you
haste hither with the forces under your command leaving a
sufficient garrisson at Charlemont with what ammunition you
have to spare that may be usefull for that place, and you shall
leave there Gen. Major Buchan with the Regiment of Foot of
Gordon O'Neal and the three troops of Clifford's Dragoons and
the companie of MacMahone which you are to withdraw from
Dungannon. And you are to order Coll. Gordon O'Neal to recruit
his Regiment and to add as many companies as he can gett
especially such as were formerly of his Regiment. As for the
party with the Duke of Berwick wee can say nothing to you of
it not knowing what orders you have given to him. Wee o^oubt
not of your diligence in these affaires and soe we bid you heartily
farewell.
Given att our Court att Dublin Castle this third day of August,
1689.
By His Majesty's Commands,
MELFORT.
22. JAMES R.
Our will and pleasure is that you send the Regiment of horse
of Sutherland and the Regiment of foot of Slaney to quarter at
Navon till our further orders. The Reg* of Horse of Lutterell
and the Reg* of foot of Westmeath lately the Reg* of Tool to
Trim to quarter till our further order. That you send the Reg* of
foot of the Lord Prior and Coll. Neugent to quarter at Drogheda.
That you send the Regt of Horse of the Duke of Tyrconnell to
quarter at Naas, Blessington and the adjacent villages and that
you order the rest of the Horse and Dragoons to quarter at the
villages between this and Drogheda and that you march with
the rest of the foot from Drogheda to this our city in two days
and here you are not to fail. Given att our Court att Dublin
Castle this n August, 1689.
By his Majesty's Commands,
MELFORT,
296 ANTHONY HAMILTON
APPENDIX VII
(Letters from Mary of Modena to Richard Hamilton. 1 )
1. ST. GERMAIN,
September the first [iyoS 2 ].
My intention was to have writt to you soon after i received
your tre and to have told you that the comfortable account
you gave me of the king's behaviour had abundantly recompensed
the kyndnesse i had shown the poor Comtesse de Granmont in
her sicknesse, but my unaccountable lasenesse in point of writting
made me putt it off so long that i did not know at last how to
go about it ; but now in the dreadfull expectation wee are in of
a battle, i can not say anything to you but con hire you to
remember your promise to me not to quit the king one step in a
day of action and also to tell him frankly and positively what is
fitt for him to do, for he has promised the king of France and me
at parting, that he would upon such occasions, do what you and
M r Sheldon should advise, i relye extremely upon your Judgement
and am persuaded the affection you have for the king will prompt
you to do mor than all i can say to you, therefor i will adde
no mor, but pray to God to give you as much strength, and health
as i am sure you have willingnesse, and capacity of serving the
king on this important occasion.
M. R.
addressed, for Mr. Hamilton.
2. CHAILLOT,
July the I2th [1710].
I have been in such a hurry for this week past, that i could
hardly find time to writt to the king, so that you must not wonder
if i have not been able befor this to answer your letter of the
2 d by which i had a confirmation of the account Mr. Booth and
Dr. Wood had sent of the kings illnesse and of the remedys
1 B.M., Add. MSS. 18966
1 The date assigned to the four letters bound into a small volume is
1710, which is correct for the first three letters, dated July I2th, Aug. i6th
and Aug. 3oth ; the above letter, which is supposed to be the fourth of
the series, is of another year, since the Queen speaks of her long silence :
1708 would seem probable from the reference to Madame de Gramont's
last illness (June, 1708) and from the expectation of a battle. Cf. Madame
de Maintenon, Lettres intdites, I, p. 312, Saint Cyr, le 2 Septembre, 1708,
" Nous voici a la veille de cette bataille de Flandre."
APPENDICES 297
that were given him which i hope in God will have a good effect
and that the worst is over ; I find you were of the same opinion
with the D r that he should take a great deal of rest and not
ioyne the army till he was quite recovered which i did beg of
him to do, without ther was a necessity to contrary as i hear
to-day ther is for the tre of the 10 brings news that the enemy s
were marching and that if they will com to Arras ther must be
a battle, wher i know the king will be, if he be able, and i praise
him for it, but at the same time, you can not but beleeve that
my poor heart akes ; I putt all my confidence in God who has
given him to me and i hope in his mercie he will preserve him ,
after that i putt my trust in you that you will be close to him
and let him do no mor then is fitt for him as you promised me,
when you took leave of me ; and as the D of Berwick told me
that he and you had agreed when he left you, how much or how
little was fitt for him in a day of action or at other times, when
certainly it is not necessary to do so much i shall not pretend
to enter into that i being no competent iudge of it, but confide
in your prudence and discretion and pray to God to direct you
to give the king the best advice which i am sure he will follow.
MARIA R.
endorsed : the Qs letters to Mr. Rich Hamilton.
3. CHAILLOT,
Aug. the 1 6 [1710].
I am verry sorry to find by yours of the 14 that the kings illnesse
was grown so troublesom, and uneasy to him, i will hope he was
then at the worst and that i shall soon hear of his being well
again, till that is, i hope you will not fail writting to me, and lett
me know exactly how he is, which is no more than i asked and
you promised when you left St. Germain, but you having forgott
it once i now put you in mind of it for fear you should forget it
again ; If you have any news, i hope you will send them to me,
as long as the king does not writt, which i would not have him
do, by no means, till he is quit at ease ; I conclude you are well,
hearing nothing to the contrary since you left us and i heartily
wish you may continue.
M. R.
addressed : For Mr. Hamilton.
298 ANTHONY HAMILTON
4. CHAILLOT,
Aug. the 30th [1710].
You guessed very right that the account that D r Baulieu gave
me after having visited the King would sett me quitt at ease, i
thank God it has don so, and therefor I can not repent my having
sent him nor i hope you dont repent the having written to me
the naked truth of the kings condition, with which i hope he
does not find fault, i am sure i dont for tho it gave me som
trouble, yett i had rather undergo that and know the truth,
then be flattered, and never know what to trust to, but of this
last i am sure you are not capable, and therefor it is a satisfaction
to me to have from you an account of the king, becaus i dare
count upon it, to be litterally trew and that is what i would have,
and for whicch and your having don it so constantly in this his
last illnesse, i can never thank you enough, but i am sure i shall
never forgett it ; I am very glad to find you are of opinion that
the kings staying so long at the army, may be prejudicial to his
health, and of no advantage to him otherways, i am sure i think
so but i am afraid of letting myself be iudge in these matters,
the M 1 de Montesquieu as well as yourself being of the same mind,
confirms me extremely in it, but i beleeve the king will see for
some days how he is, and what part is taken after the siege of
Bethune is ended, which i think has held out wonderfully ; I
had not M e de Maintenons answer this morning when i writt to
the king, upon the account i gave her of him to give to the K. of
France but i have it now in these words ; Le Roy m'a ordone* de
vous mander qu'il faudra bien que le Roy d'Angleterre revienne
des qu'il ne pourra plus monter & cheval. II est impossible que
Bethune aille loin, la defence en est desja surprenante, apres cela
on verra bien tost a quoi les enemis se porteront, Les emoroides
sont un grand mal, surtout quand on ne peux pas se reposer, je
crois que vous prendres nostre parti sur le rapport que vous en
fera nostre Chirurgien, apres 1'avoir mande* au Roy, her letter
was very long upon other matters, she says they expected to-
night a Courrier from Spaine but that at present they know no
mor than i do of that matter ; I think upon this answer it were
propre that Beaulieu and D r Wood writt a letter to Dr. Gamman
whicch might be shewd to Fagon or Mareshal, or i might send it
to M e de Maintenon, to tell what they think of the kings illnesse,
for if they beleeve, that the king can not ride without venturing
to be ill again nor stay in that country without venturing an
aigue whicch is but to plain his coming away will soon be decided;
the king or you will lett me know what he thinks of all this,
what els he would have me do ; and i shall performe.
M. R.
endorsed : Lettres de la Reine a M r R d dhamilton de Chaliot.
APPENDICES 299
APPENDIX VIII
NOTES ON THE HAMILTON PORTRAITS
THE National Portrait Gallery possesses a portrait by an un-
known painter of Anthony Hamilton in his youth (Register
number 1467). This portrait was at one time at Ditton Park,
Lord Beaulieu's house, and was bought by the National Portrait
Gallery in 1907. A portrait of Anthony Hamilton in uniform
by an unknown painter is in the possession of Mr. Forde of
Seaforde, Co. Down. The engraving of Anthony Hamilton in his
old age which appears in most editions of the Memoirs was first
executed for the Strawberry Hill edition (1772) " Celui d'Hamil-
ton," says Walpole, " est d'apres son estampe executee . .
dans ses dernieres annees." 1
The 1794 edition of the Memoirs, a reprint of the 1793 edition,
reproduces " an additional portrait of the author," and the same
portrait is given in Harding's Biographical Mirror, Vol. I, No. 49,
as being from an original in the collection of Lord Beaulieu at
Ditton Park. It was probably destroyed with most of the
historical portraits of that mansion in the fire which occurred
there in 1812. As a matter of fact, careful comparison of this
portrait with the National Gallery portrait will show that the
person represented cannot well be Anthony Hamilton. 2 There
is, however, a striking resemblance between this portrait and that
of George Hamilton, now at the National Portrait Gallery, but
it is not a portrait of him either, as it is that of a much younger
man while the costume is that of a later period. 3 There is no
doubt that it represents one of the younger brothers, Thomas,
Richard, or John Hamilton.
A portrait of George Hamilton by an unknown painter is now,
1 " Avis . . . sur cette nouvelle edition." The British Museum (Cata-
logue of Engraved British Portraits at the British Museum, II, p. 442)
and the Bibliotheque Nationale (Catalogue de la Collection des Portraits
fran9ais et etrangers, conservee au Departement des Estampes de la
Bibliotheque Nationale IV, p. 339) possess various reproductions of this
engraving.
2 Anthony Hamilton has straight eyebrows and a nose retrousse rather
than otherwise. In this ' additional portrait ' the eyebrows and the bridge
of the nose are arched.
8 The lace cravat would place the date of this portrait between 1675
and 1685, and George Hamilton was no longer living at the time. I owe
this and other information to the kindness of Mr. J. D. Milner of the
National Portrait Gallery.
300 ANTHONY HAMILTON
as has been mentioned, at the National Portrait Gallery (No. 1468).
It is a companion picture to the portrait of Anthony Hamilton
and was bought in the same conditions.
There are several portraits of Madame de Gramont. The best-
known of these is the Hampton Court Lely, 1 painted about
1662, mentioned by her brother in the Memoirs as being one
of Lely's happiest creations. The National Portrait Gallery
possesses another portrait by Lely (No. 509), formerly in the
possession of the Walrond family, Dulford House, Devon. The
date assigned to this portrait is about 1669, when the countess
was twenty-eight, but one would be inclined to choose a some-
what later date, for it is hard to believe that she should have
changed so much to her disadvantage in seven years. 2 There
is also at the Portrait Gallery a portrait of Madame de Gramont
in her youth, a copy after Lely by Eccardt (No. 20). Two
miniatures of her are in the Jones collection, South Kensington,
and two at Montague House. 8
Mr. Forde, of Seaforde, Co. Down, also possesses a portrait of
Margaret Hamilton (who married Mathew Forde), believed to
be by Lely, and one of the Comte de Gramont by an unknown
artist.
An ' Irish correspondent ' quoted in Pinkerton's Walpoliana
II, p. 10, speaks of the Hamilton portraits he saw at Lord
Kingsland's house, Turvey, Co. Dublin. (Mary Hamilton,
George Hamilton's third daughter, had married a Viscount
Kingsland in 1688.) " I particularly recollect the portraits of
Count Hamilton and his brother Anthony and two of Madame
Grammont, one taken in her youth, the other in an advanced
age." The Kingsland property eventually passed into the hands
of the Trimlestown family, but Lord Trimlestown, who kindly
replied to my letter of inquiry, was unable to tell me what had
become of these portraits.
A portrait of James Hamilton was formerly at the Marquis of
Abercorn's at Stanmore, but was sold. 4
1 Cf. Catalogue of Engraved British Portraits at the British Museum,
II, p. 367 ; Catalogue . . . Departement des Estampes de la Bibliotheque
Nationale, IV, p. 243.
* Moreover, if one may judge from the inscription on the frame, " she
married in 1664 Philibert Comte de Gramont, with whom in 1669 she
resided in France," the date has been based on information taken from a
letter from Charles II to Madame, erroneously dated 1669 in Dalrymple's
Memoirs.
8 Allan Fea, Introduction to his edition of the Mcmoirts de Grammont,
p. xx.
4 Cunningham, Story of Nell Gwyn, p. 208.
APPENDICES 301
APPENDIX IX
MANUSCRIPT COPIES OF THE MEMOIRES DE GRAMMONT
ONE copy was formerly in the possession of the Earl of Ash-
burnham (cf. Hist. MSS. Comm., 8th Report, Appendix, Part III,
p. 417), viz. Fragmens de la vie du comte de Grammont (par le
Comte Antoine Hamilton) on Paper, 2 vols. Quarto. This
copy was sold in May, 1899, ^Y Messrs. Sotheby, Wilkinson and
Hodge to Mr. Tregaskis, 232 High Holborn. Mr. Tregaskis,
who kindly replied to my inquiry, was not able to tell me into
whose hands the manuscript had passed. Another copy which
I was not able to see is at the Hanover archives. This is ob-
viously the copy sent by Madame to the duchess of Hanover
(cf. Madame, Lettres II, p. 178 n.)
One copy is preserved at the Bibliotheque Mazarine, viz.
manuscrit 2190, Fragmens de la vie du comte de Gramont.
Papier. 176 et 244 pages ; haut. 233, larg. 178 millim., XVII 6
[should be XVIII 6 ] sicle. Copie du temps de 1'auteur.
An imperfect copy is preserved at the Bibliotheque Natio-
nale, viz. nouvelles acquisitions franaises 1972. Fragmens
de la vie du Comte de Gramont. Chapitre I a IX seulement.
Dix-huitime sicle. Papier. 367 pages. 210 sur 158 milli-
metres, rel. veau gr. This fragment corresponds to Part I of the
copy at the Bibliotheque Mazarine.
These two last texts derive from the same copy and I shall
speak of them as A x (B. Mazarine) and A 2 (B. Nationale). They
agree very closely ; in fact there are practically no variants.
That they were not, however, directly copied the one from the
other is proved, inter alia, by the difference in their orthography,
e.g. A! differents, talents, evenements, A 2 differens, talens, evene-
mens, etc. A 2 is a more careless work with poor spelling and bad
punctuation. They seem both to have been dictated or to
derive from a copy that was dictated, cf. e.g. Laon (A x A 2 ) for
Lens, Oudancourt (A x ) and Oudancour (A 2 ) for Houdancourt,
Amilton (A 2 ) for Hamilton, Momorency (A 2 ) for Montmorency,
s'estoit (Aj) for c'estoit, etc. The most interesting thing that we
learn from A! A 2 is perhaps the fact that there were two addi-
tional chapters in the first draft of the Memoirs which, for some
reason or other, have not come down to us (cf. p. 206 supra).
Aj A 2 differ considerably from the first printed edition of the
Memoirs, viz. the 1713 edition, which shows not a few omissions,
and in the following notes almost all the variants are given.
302 ANTHONY HAMILTON
The Me"moires de Grammont are not a work of sufficient import-
ance to warrant a list of all the variants ; quite unessential ones
have therefore been omitted, as well as obvious errors of A! A,.
The 1713 edition differs most widely from A t A, at the end of
Chapter IV, which has been changed to leave no trace of the
missing chapters, and at the end of Chapter VI and at the be-
ginning of Chapter VII where, for no very obvious reasons
nothing is gained by the remaniement certain paragraphs have
been transposed. This edition may have been printed from a
later manuscript copy in which the changes were made by Hamil-
ton, but they are far more likely the work of the editor who
published the Memoirs, certainly without any authorization,
from a manuscript copy which, he said, he had received from
Paris.
The text here given is that of 1713 ; the variants are in
parenthesis. Unless otherwise stated the variants are found in
both A! and A,. With the fewest of exceptions the variants
Aj A, are to be preferred to the 1713 readings.
CHAPTER I.
p. 2. II fait entrer le pauvre Marc Antoine par compassion
(comparaison) pour toutes ses faiblesses.
CHAPTER II.
p. 7. par consequent (mais aussi) les sieges e*toient d'une
longueur raisonnable.
CHAPTER III.
p. 21. II me demanda si je voulois acheter des chevaux (add,
d'artillerie ; Aj only).
p. 23. Le tout (add, du tout) en fut. Cf. Littre*, le tout du
tout, la partie qui se joue, apres que la meme personne
a perdu partie, revanche et le tout, et dans laquelle on
joue autant d 'argent qu'on a joue* dans les trois parties
pre"ce*dentes.
p. 26. Que dira Madame ? (add, quelle nouvelle pour madame !)
p. 27. Je le prierai de souper. . . . Et ou ? dit Matta. (A
souper, dit Matta, et ou ?)
[The longer answer is more in the manner of Matta. One
wonders why in all modern editions another, very characteristic,
remark of Matta's has been similarly shortened, viz. in Chapter
VI. The 1713 text reads as follows, p. 63 :
APPENDICES 303
Rien n'est plus honnete, disoit Malta.
Mais, pourquoi n'en aurois-je aucune Inquietude ?
Oh, ma foi, je n'en sais rien, dit Matt a.
Voici pourquoi, reprit-il.
Most subsequent editions adopt the following text :
Rien n'est plus honnete, disait Matta, mais pourquoi, n'en
avoir aucune inquietude ?
Voici pourquoi, reprit-il.
Matta was not the person to wonder why M. de Senantes should
be uneasy on any subject.]
p. 30. Came'ran ayant ete trois ou quatre fois de reste
(dereste).
p. 31. Vous avez beau tempeter (temporiser) ; tant que vous
jouerez, vous perdrez.
CHAPTER IV.
p. 61. II fallut done se passer de Madame, pour aller trouver
(pour tenir parole a, Aj ; pour aller a, A 2 ) Monsieur.
p. 71. il gronderoit bien sa femme de son impertinente (im-
prudente) tendresse.
ib. il mouroit d'envie de se revoir (de reboire) avec le cher
Matta.
p. 75. il vit trotter (toutes, A! only) les santez a la ronde.
p. 76. Quoi qu'il en soit, persuade (insert, comme il est encore)
qu'en amour. . . .
ib. Mais, il est terns que nous le tirions de la Cour de Savoie,
pour le voir briller dans celle de France. (Add, C'est 1&
que d'illustres matieres s'offrant aux differents talents
dont la nature 1'avoit pourveu nous 1'allons voir dans
les intrigues de la cour, dans les evenements du jeu,
dans la temerite des entreprises et dans la prosperite du
succez, toujours singulier, toujours inimitable et toujours
admire.
Dans 1'une de ces scenes, on verra son activity, sa
prevoyance, et son industrie dans 1'enlevement de
M lle de Bouteville. Dans 1'autre sa penetration, ses
conjectures et ses conseils malheureusement negligez
avant remprisonnement des Princes, son precede
genereux apres et dans quelques conjectures moins
eclatantes nous parlerons de ses Fortunes, de ses Incon-
stances et de ses Tracasseries.
304
ANTHONY HAMILTON
CHAPTER V
p. 77. Le Chevalier de Gram-
mont de retour en France,
y soutint merveilleusement
la Reputation qu'il avoit
acquise ailleurs.
ib. Attache* d' Inclination a
Monsieur le Prince, Te*moin,
et si on ose le dire, Com-
pagnon de la Gloire qu'il
avoit acquise aux fameuses
Journe*es de Lens, de Nor-
lingues et de Fribourg, les
Recits qu'il en a si souvent
faits, n'ont rien diminue* de
leur e"clat.
ib. II 1'a suivi dans la
premiere Disgrace de sa For-
tune, d'une Constance dont
on voit peu d'Exemples.
A! A, Chapter VII (Ch.V and
VI are missing).
Dans les chapitres precedents
on a veu le Chevalier de Gram-
ont soutenii partout son
caractere.
Que d'exemples on en a veus
dans les Campagnes de Laon
[sic], de Nordlingue et de Fri-
bourg. Attache" d'inclination a
M. le Prince, te*moin de la
gloire qu'il avoit acquise a ces
fameuses journe*es, les re*cits
qu'il en a si souvent faits n'ont
rien diminue* de leur e*clat.
Mais s'U 1'a veu triompher en
tant de lieux differents tandis
qu'il suivoit la parti le plus
juste, son attachement ne
s'est point dementy, lorsqu'une
fatale ne*cessite* 1'a force* de
quitter ce party pour en pren-
dre un autre.
Dans les premieres disgraces
de sa fortune il 1'a suivi d'une
Constance dont on ne voit
gueres d'exemples.
p. 85. lorsque tu montrois a danser les Triolets (tricolets).
Should be ' tricotets.' Cf. Littre*, tricotets, ancienne
danse, tres vive ; . . . cette danse est ainsi nomme'e
parce que le mouvement du pied y est aussi prompt que
Test celui de la main en tricotant.
P- 93- J e va is bient6t passer (pousser) a toute bride.
p. 95. de se voir traine* en Chemise par (panni, A,) les Vaincus.
p. 96. n'e"tant pas presse* de porter une mauvaise (mechante ;
Aj) nouvelle.
p. 103. qu'on voulut 1* (s') assujettir.
CHAPTER VI (Chapter VIII).
p. 107. quelques Beautez cache*es (retirees).
p. no. Son pere, des lors Minis tre (chancelier) de 1'Angleterre.
p. in. plein d'esprit et de feu (et fou).
p. 112. si vrai (net) dans tous ses Proce'dez.
APPENDICES
305
p. 115. cette meme Comtesse de Castelmaine, depuis Duchesse
(Dame, AJ de Cleveland.
p. 1 1 6. la Comtesse de Panetra (Penalva, A x ; Penatra, A 2 ) ;
Cf. Clarendon, Continuation (Oxford, 1761, 3rd ed.),
II, p. 340, the countess of Penalva.
ib. un certain Taurauvedez (Taureau-cideur) . Cf. Littre
tauricider, terme vieilli, combattre et tuer les taureaux
dans les courses de taureaux.
ib. y ajouta (ayant reduit tous ces noms a) celui de Pierre
du Bois.
p. 117. Le Chevalier de Grammont
qu'a faire connaissance.
p. 123. Sans prix (paix) pour elle.
p. 131. Cette Beaute . . . mettoit son plus grand Merite a etre
plus semillante (accueillante) que les autres.
p. 134. II etoit sur le point de Aj A 2
travailler a la Desolation de II etoit sur le point de
la pauvre Midleton. travailler a la desolation de la
p. 135. lorsqu'il vit par hazard
n'eut (insert, plus)
Mademoiselle d'Hamilton.
Des ce moment, plus de
Ressentiment centre la
Midleton ; plus d'Empresse-
mens pour la Warmestre ;
plus d'Inconstance ; plus de
Vceux flottans. Cet Ob jet les
fixa tous ; et de ses an-
ciennes Habitudes, il ne lui
resta que 1' Inquietude et la
Jalousie.
Ses premiers Soins furent
de plaire ; mais, il vit bien
qu'il falloit, pour reussir,
s'y prendre tout autrement
qu'il n'avoit fait jusqu'alors.
La Famille de Mademoi-
selle d'Hamilton, assez nom-
breuse, occupoit une Maison
grande et commode prs de
la Cour. Celle du Due
d'Ormond n'en bougeoit. Ce
qu'il y avoit de plus distin-
gue dans Londres s'y trou-
voit tous les jours. Le
Chevalier de Grammont y
fut recu selon son Merite et
pauvre Midleton, lorsqu'elle
fut sauvee par 1'avanture qu'on
verra dans le chapitre qui suit
(suivant, A 2 ).
CHAPITRE IX
Le Chevalier de Gramont,
peu content du progres de ses
galanteries, se voyant heureux
sans etre aime, devint jaloux
sans etre amoureux. La
Midleton, comme on 1'a dit
alloit eprouver, comme il s'y
prenoit pour tourmenter, apres
avoir e'prouve' ce qu'il savoit
pour plaire.
II fut la chercher chez
la reine, ou il y avoit bal.
Elle y etoit ; mais, par bon-
heur pour elle, Mademoiselle
d'Hamilton y etoit aussi. Le
hazard avoit fait que de toutes
les belles personnes de la cour,
c'etoit celle qu'il avoit la moins
vue et celle qu'on lui avoit la
plus vante*e. II la vit done
pour la premiere fois de pres et
s'apperut qu'il n'avoit rien
306
ANTHONY HAMILTON
sa Qualit6. II s'e*tonna
d'avoir emploie tant de terns
ailleurs ; mais aprds avoir
fait cette Connoissance, il
n'en chercha plus.
Tout le monde convenoit
que Mademoiselle d'Hamil-
ton e*toit digne de 1'Attache-
ment le plus sincere et le
plus se"rieux. Rien n'e*toit
meilleur que sa Naissance ;
et rien de plus charmant qui
sa personne.
p. 136. CHAPITRE VII
Le Chevalier de Gram-
mont, peu content de ses
Galanteries, se voiant heur-
eux sans etre aime*, devint
jaloux sans etre amoureux.
La Midleton, comme on a
dit, alloit e*prouver comme
il s'y prenoit pour tourmen-
ter, apres avoir e*prouve* ce
qu'il savoit pour plaire.
II fut la chercher chez la
Reine, ou il y avoit Bal.
Elle y e"toit ; mais, par bon-
heur pour eLle, Mademoiselle
d'Hamilton y e*toit aussi.
Le Hazard avoit fait que
de toutes les Belles Per-
sonnes, c'e*toit celle qu'il avoit
le moins vue et celle qu'on lui
avoit le plus vante*e. II la
vit done pour la premiere fois
de pres, et s'appercut qu'il
n' avoit rien vu dans la Cour
avant ce moment. II 1'en-
tretint, elle lui parla. Tant
qu'elle dansa, ses yeux
furent sur elle ; et, des ce
moment, plus de Ressenti-
ment centre la Midleton.
Elle e*toit dans cet heureux
age, etc.
vu dans la cour avant ce
moment. II 1'entretint ; elle
lui parla. Tant qu'elle dansa,
ses yeux furent sur elle ; et
des ce moment, plus de ressenti-
ment centre la Midleton, plus
d'empressements pour la War-
mestre" ; plus d'inconstance ;
plus de voeux flottants. Cet
objet les fixa tous ; et de ses
anciennes habitudes, il ne lui
resta que 1'inquietude et la
jalousie.
Ses premiers Soins furent de
plaire ; mais, il vit bien qu'il
falloit, pour re*ussir, s'y prendre
tout autrement qu'il n'avoit
fait jusqu'alors.
La famille de Mademoiselle
d'Hamilton, assez nombreuse,
occupoit une maison grande et
commode pres de la cour.
Celle du due d'Ormond n'en
bougeait. Ce qu'il y avoit de
plus distingue* dans Londres s'y
trouvoit tous les jours. Le
chevalier de Gramont y fut recu
selon son me*rite et sa qualite*.
II s'e*tonna d'avoir employe*
tant de temps ailleurs ; mais
aprds avoir fait cette con-
noissance il n'en chercha plus.
Tout le monde convenoit
que mademoiselle d'Hamilton
e*toit digne de I'attachement le
plus sincere et le plus seYieux.
Rien n'e*toit meilleur que sa
naissance et rien de plus char-
mant que sa personne. Elle
e*toit dans cet heureux age, etc.
APPENDICES 307
The 1713 remaniement contains the sentence " des ce moment,
plus de ressentiment centre la Middleton " twice, as will have
been noticed, viz. on p. 135 and p. 136.
p. 137. de quoi former des (de ces) Prejuges avantageux sur
tout le reste.
p. 140. Elle avoit la Taille de toutes (insert, les bossues) sans
1'etre. From the 1760 edition onwards, all editions
give this passage as " elle avait la taille d'une femme
grosse sans 1'etre."
p. 143. sans egard aux Defenses de son Mari (epoux).
p. 145. Milord Janet (Jaret). Jaret is intended for Gerard.
Cf. Modern Language Review, Vol. x, p. 59.
p. 146. Je serai mieux e*clairci de mon sort par le Present que
je vous envoie (add, car si je ne vous suis pas odieux).
p. 147. Elle paroissoit fort affairee (insert, L'autre commensait
a deviner le sujet de cette visite) L'heure (1'envie de
rire) commengoit a la gagner.
p. 150. une bagatelle comme cela (celle-la).
p. 155. Les Filles de la Reine et celle de la Duchesse furent
menees par ceux qui (insert, n') etoient (insert, pas) de
la mascarade. Aj only.
p. 161. et (insert, paree) de vos presents vous souffrez qu'elle
vous creve les yeux.
p. 165. Le Due de Boukingham . . . pour se mettre (remettre)
bien dans 1'Esprit du Roi.
p. 172. Mademoiselle Stewart le retint tout pour elle. (add,
Mille festes galantes marquoient la passion du Roy pour
elle.)
p. 179. Non, Madame (insert, poursuivit-il), je ne compte pour
rien, etc. Ce n'etait pas apparemment un pretre (add,
dit-elle). Pardonnez-moi, Madame, dit-il (omit, dit-il).
A 8 breaks off with this chapter.
CHAPTER VIII (Chapter X, A t ).
p. 182. pour rendre compte a Madrid (a son maitre) de sa Con-
duite.
p. 191. Elle e"toit fine (fiere) et delicate sur le Mepris.
p. 198. Le comte d'Arran . . . deposa, que dans la Gallerie de
Hons-laer-dyk ou (insert, la Princesse Roy ale, le Roi) la
Comtesse d'Ossery, etc.
p. 200. Temoins du Bonheur de bien d'autres (de quelque autre).
p. 202. Quand elle se promettent (permettent) le plaisir de la
Vengeance.
308 ANTHONY HAMILTON
p. 205. Southask . . . remonta (insert, tout doucement) dans
son (en) carosse.
p. 209. Sous pretexte de vouloir etre de toutes ces Parties
(fetes).
p. 210. II n'y pardonnait . . . ni aux Maris jaloux, ni a 1'Epouse
(add, facile).
p. 218. Le Roi soutint qu'il n'y en avoit point (insert, de plus
belle au monde qu'en Angleterre et qu'en Angleterre il
n'y en avoit point) de si belle que celle de Mademoiselle
Stewart.
p. 220. (add, Les plaintes), les reproches, 1'aigreur, etc.
CHAPTER IX. (Chapter XI, A t ).
p. 235. Cacher ce qu'on fait (sent) de plus doux.
ib. On prend (perd) cent plaisirs.
p. 253. voila une petite Migraine (mignonne) bien pare*e.
p. 272. s'e*tant denotement mis a (insert, deux) genoux.
p. 274. certain Air d'Incertitude (ineptitude),
p. 275. Elle e*toit d'une Famille Roy ale (loyaliste). Corrected
in subsequent editions to ' royaliste.'
p. 291. diffe*rente en cela, comme en bien d'autres choses
(agrements).
p. 295. II cut recours aux Invectives et meme aux Charmes
(larmes).
CHAPTER X. (Chapter XII, A,)
p. 319. la nouvelle (dernire) cour de la Reine.
p. 330. la Delicatesse de celui de leurs (insert, trs) tendres et
tres magnifiques Moiti^s.
ib. a se reVolter centre (insert, la pluralite* des) les Maitresses
du Roi.
ib. que c'e'toit bien assez d'une (insert, jeune) femme.
ib. des Garnemens . . . comme Sidney (Sidley). Sidley
(a form of Sedley) is much more appropriate,
p. 331. soit par trop (insert, peu) de complaisance pour elles-
memes.
p. 356. il . . . 1'enveloppa (insert, d'un pan) de son Justau-
corps.
p. 370. La Duchesse y voulut voir courre des Levriers (lievres).
ib. C'e'toit la Creature du monde la plus paresseuse (peur-
euse).
APPENDICES
309
CHAPTER XI (Chapter XIII, AJ.
p. 376. pour n'etre pas (insert, cruellement) arrache de ce lieu,
p. 381. II etoit a deux genoux devant moi, pour 1'acheter (add,
Pourquoi, dis-je en moi-meme ne le pas vendre a cet
animal au profit de mon maitre).
p. 383. Combien avez-vous mis (insert, de temps) a venir de
Londres ici ?
p. 385. II fut voir Mademoiselle (la Marechale) de I'Hopital.
p. 386. Ses Affaires finies, il partit (Des qu'il eut mis quelque
ordre aux affaires qui le retenoient, il n'en attendit pas
un second pour partir.)
p. 389. Les anciens Engagemens en etoient partout reveilles
et de nouveaux (insert, commerces) s'etablissoient.
p. 391. eternellement rebattu des Descriptions du Merite (insert,
cache) de M me de Shrewsbury.
p. 394. Shrewsbury, trop honnete Homme pour s'en plaindre
(prendre) a Madame,
p. 400. gagner quatre ou cinq (trois ou quatre) Guinees par
jour.
ib. Celui qui tient le Dez a ce Jeu en a tout 1'Avantage
(desavantage).
p. 402. Avec Mademoiselle Stewart ? (add, ou chez elle, dit-il).
p. 405. louer quelque femme de la cour pour de beaux Bras,
une belle Jambe (de beaux bras, de belles jambes, la
gorge ou les epaules).
p. 406. Les Juppes de Mademoiselle Stewart . . . effraierent
son Cheval (insert, il I'emportoit, elle m'appela, tout le
monde suivit le roy d'un autre cote, j'arretay son cheval)
parce qu'il vouloit bien attendre celui que je montois.
p. 413. Elle s'etoit dechainee sans reserve, depuis sa Disgrace,
centre (insert, 1'impertinence de) Mademoiselle Stewart
qu'elle en accusoit par son Impertinence (omit, par son
impertinence) et centre 1'Imbecilite du Roi qui, pour
une Idiote revetue (insert, de ses depouilles) la traitoit
avec tant d'Indignite.
p. 415. Babinai (Bab-May) dont Madame de Cleveland avoit
fait la fortune.
[Bab May or Baptist May, 1629-1698, keeper of the privy
purse to Charles II. Cf. Clarendon, Life and Continuation, III,
p. 642. " The lady . . . procured round sums of money out of the
privy purse (where she had placed Mr. May)],
p. 419. Le Cceur de la Reine se tourna tout d'un coup (add,
vers elle).
3 io ANTHONY HAMILTON
p. 422. Germain se pr^senta (declara) tout des premiers sans
songer que le (insert, seul) Pretexte de sa Convalescence-
etc.
p. 425. il ne fut pas le seul qui se ressentit de cette Bizarerie
(bizarre influence).
p. 426. Le Chevalier de Grammont . . . se vit enfin Possesseur
de Mademoiselle d'Hamilton (add, Ce sera dans la
troisime partie de ces memoires qu'on fera voir de
quelle maniere arriverent ces differentes avantures).
APPENDIX X
REPONSE de Madame la Mare*challe de Barwick a M r le Cure* de
Cour Dimanche, par Hamilton 1 (an unpublished poem which
may serve as a specimen of his vers de societe*).
Bonjour messire le pasteur,
Bon jour messire et bonne anne.
Les vers dont mav6s etrennee,
Plaisent a cause de 1'auteur,
Mais je m'en vis fort 6tonn6e,
Car de r^pondre a tel docteur,
De tout le monde abandoned,
Je n'eus ny 1'espoir ny le coeur.
Si done ma reponse est tardive,
Pay 6s vous de cette raison,
Ce n'est pas icy le valon,
Ou du Permesse sur la rive,
Chant ent les e"lus d'Apollon.
Craintifs comme oiseaux sur la branche,
Chacun e"vitoit cet employ,
Quoy, J6crirois disoient-ils moy,
A cet illustre Cour Dimanche
Qui tient les neuf sceurs dans sa manche,
Et le dieu des vers sous sa Loy,
Encore passe pour Palaprat,
A qui s'il nous falloit ecrire,
Nous enverrions des vers pour rire,
Quoy qu'Apollon en fasse estat,
Et semble lui prester sa Lyre
Dans les forSts de Bellebat,
Nous voyons done que la muse
Du plus Renomm6 Rimailleur
Au lieu de se piquer d'honneur
Trs humblement fesoit Excuse.
1 Bibliothque de Bordeaux, Manuscrit 693, p. 612.
APPENDICES 311
Je dis prenons la plume en main,
Faisons voir a Sa Reverence,
Qu'on peut manquer a St. Germain,
D'esprit non de Reconnaissance.
Adieu done encore une fois,
A vous 1'honneur de Cour Dimanche,
Puisse votre vigne estre franche,
De tous les frimats de ce mois,
Qu'a Jamais glace noire ou blanche,
Fasse grace aux vins gatinois,
Et que jamais on ne retranche,
Ny cave ny cellier sur un (?) cure" fransois
Et comme au temps jadis qu'il ait tou jours ses droits
Sur son menage et sur 1'Eclanche.
MANUSCRIPT COPIES OF HAMILTON'S WORKS
AND LETTERS
Fragmens de la vie du comte de Gramont. Bibliotheque
Mazarine, manuscrit 2190. Papier, 176 et 244 pages, haut. 233.
larg. 178 millim. XVIIIe siecle. Copie du temps de 1'auteur. Cf .
Appendix p. 301 et seq.
Fragmens de la vie du comte de Gramont. Chapitres I a IX
seulement. Bibliotheque Rationale, nouvelles acquisitions fran-
caises 1972. XVIII 6 siecle, Papier, 367 pages, 210 sur 158
millimetres. Rel veau gr. Cf. Appendix, p. 301 et seq.
Fragmens de la vie du comte de Gramont. Archives of
Hanover. Calemb. Orig. Archiv. Des. 63 VI, Fach No. i. Fol.
(cf. Madame, Lettres, II, p. 178, note).
Trait detache de I'histoire amoureuse de la Cour d'Angleterre
sous le regne de Charles Deux (the Bretby episode), in Recueil
d'historiettes et avantures curieuses. Part II. Bibliotheque
Mazarine, manuscrit 3939.
Les Antiquites de Pontalie. Le Belier, conte a Mademoiselle,
par Antoine Hamilton. Bibliotheque de Caen, manuscrit 252,
XVIII 6 siecle. Papier, 120 feuillets, 310 sur 200 millim. Relie
veau aux armes du marechal de Harcourt.
Reponse de la marechale de Berwick a M. le cure de Courdi-
manche, par Hamilton. Bibliotheque de Bordeaux, manuscrit 693,
p. 612. Cf. Appendix, pp. 310, 311.
A letter to Ruvigny, dated Dublin, April I3th, 1675 (in
French). Archives du Ministere de la Guerre, Vol. 440, No. 109.
Another copy is in Vol. 467, No. 92. Cf. Appendix, pp. 281, 282.
312 ANTHONY HAMILTON
An autograph letter from Hamilton to Captain George Mathew,
Dublin [1681], in the collection of Lord Ormonde. Cf. Hist.
MSS. Comm. Seventh Report, Appendix, p. 8253.. Through the
kindness of Lord Ormonde I obtained a copy of this letter. It
is not of sufficient importance to warrant reproduction.
An autograph letter (English) to Tyrry, herald of the English
court at Saint -Germain. BibliothSque Nationale, manuscrit
francais 32964, No. 90. Of no importance.
Two letters to Madame de Caylus, ib. Nos. 357 and 358,
printed in Du Boscq de Beaumont et M. Bernos. La cour des
Stuarts & St. Germain en Laye.
The Isographie des hommes celebres (Paris, 1828-30), Vol. II,
gives a facsimile of the letter to entered in A. W. Thibau-
deau's Catalogue of the Morrison Manuscripts, Vol. II, p. 229.
A letter to - - is quoted in part in Etienne Charavay, Lettres
autographes composant la collection de M. Alfred Bovet (Paris,
1887).
BIBLIOGRAPHY 1
I. FRENCH TEXT
A. COLLECTED WORKS
I 749- [Paris], 1749. 6 vols. I2mo. (B.M. and B. Nat.)
Memoires du Comte de Grammont, I e Partie.
Memoires du Comte de Grammont, II e Partie.
Le Belier (and Poesies).
Fleur d'Epine (and Chansons).
Les Quatre Facardins (and Poesies).
CEuvres melees en prose et en vers (contains Zeneyde).
No collective title.
1762. Reprinted with the collective title (Euvres du comte
Antoine Hamilton. (B. Nat. and the University Library,
Edinburgh.)
According to A. A. Renouard (Preface to his edition of
Hamilton's Works, 1812, I, p. ix) this edition was reprinted in
1 Cf. Querard, France Litteraire and La Literature Francaise Contem-
poraine ; Brunet, Manuel du Libraire and Supplement ; G. Drunet, Preface
to his edition of the Memoires (1859); Lorenz, Catalogue General de la
Librairie Francaise ; Vicaire, Manuel de V Amateur du Livre ; Catalogue
de la Bibliotheque Imperiale, Catalogue de I'Histoire de France, Vol. IX,
pp. 618-619 ; Lowndes, The Bibliographer's Manual of English Literature ;
The English Catalogue of Books, The General Catalogue of Printed Books at
the British Museum ; Heinsius, Allgemeines Bucher Lexicon ; Kayser,
Vollstandiges Bucher Lexicon; W. Kissenberth, Ant. d* Hamilton, sein
Leben und seine Werke.
M. Kissenberth in his thesis has given a fairly complete bibliography
of the French editions of Hamilton's works. The English and German
editions have not, to the best of my knowledge, been yet enumerated.
M. Kissenberth's bibliography is far from being as accurate as it might be.
M. Brunet's edition of the Memoirs (1859) is entered twice, so is the edition
published by Miller in 1811-12. The same honour is accorded to Renouard' s
edition of Hamilton's works (1813, 5 vols., i8mo.), and to the edition of
the tales published for the Comte d'Artois, Les Quatre Facardins, which
belongs to the 1749 edition of Hamilton's works is entered as a separate
edition of that tale, the same remark applies to the (Euvres melees of that
edition. (As a matter of fact there is a similar error in the Catalogue of the
British Museum.) These remarks might be multiplied.
313
314 ANTHONY HAMILTON
1770, but I have never come across this reprint, either in a
library or in another bibliography.
1776. Reprinted with the collective title CEuvres du comte
Antoine Hamilton, Nouvelle Edition, Corrige'e et aug-
mente*e d'un volume, A Londres, 1776. (B.M. and B.
Nat.)
The collective title does not appear in Vols. V and VI,
the Memoires du Comte de Grammont. The title-page
of Vol. VII gives some additional information, viz.
A Londres, Et se trouve a Paris chez Le Jay, Libraire
rue S. Jacques, au grand Corneille. MDCCLXXVI.
1777. Reprinted, also 7 vols., with the collective title (Euvres
mele*es En Prose et en Vers du Comte Antoine Hamilton.
(B. Nat.) Renouard (loc. cit.) says that this reprint
appeared at Bouillon, but Vol. VII has this colophon,
De I'lmprimerie de F. J. Desoer, Libraire a Li6ge et a
Spa.
A reprint also appeared that year at Berlin, Rottmann
(Heinsius.)
1805. (Euvres completes D'Hamilton, Nouvelle Edition, Revue,
Corrige'e, pre*ce*de*e d'une notice historique et litteYaire,
disposed dans un meilleur ordre, et augmente*e de plusieurs
pieces en prose et en vers ; avec 3 portraits ; Paris,
Comet, 1805, 8vo.
1812. (Euvres du comte Antoine Hamilton, Paris, chez Antoine
Augustin Renouard, 1812, 3 vols., 8vo. With a Notice
sur la vie et les ouvrages d'Hamilton by L. S. Auger,
and a continuation of the unfinished tales which has a
separate title-page, Suite des Quatre Facardins et de
Zeneyde, Contes d'Hamilton, terminus par M. de Levis.
Paris, chez Antoine-Augustin Renouard, 1813. The
Suite is usually, but not always, bound with Vol. Ill of
the (Euvres. With 8 portraits and 4 other engravings.
1813. The same, but in 5 vols., i8mo. The different parts of
this edition, the Memoires, Contes, and (Euvres di verses,
were sold separately and are frequently given separate
entries by bibliographers.
1818. (Euvres completes, Paris, Belin, 1818, i vol., 8vo. Col-
lection des Prosateurs francais. With a Notice signed
D. (Depping).
1825. (Euvres completes, prece'dees d'une notice par J. B. J.
Champagnac et augmentees d'une suite des Quatre
Facardins et de Ze*neide ; Paris, Salmon, 1825, 2 vols.,
8vo. With a portrait.
BIBLIOGRAPHY 315
B. MISCELLANIES AND SELECTED WORKS
1731. (Euvres melees en Prose et en vers. Par M. le comte
Antoine Hamilton. Paris, chez Je. Fr. Tosse, 1731
I2mo. (B. Nat.)
Also in 2 vols., I2mo, with the same pagination, but
different title-pages. To the above title-page has been
added Tome Premier, Contenant les Poesies et les
Lettres et Epitres, and Tome Second, Contenant les
Chansons et 1'histoire de Zeneyde. (B. Nat.)
1731. (Euvres du Comte d'Hamilton, Auteur des Me*moires du
Comte de Grammont. A Utrecht chez Etienne Neaulme,
I 73 I > 5 vols., i2mo. (B. Nat.)
Vol.1. LeBelier.
Vol. II. Fleur d'Epine.
Vol. III. Les Quatre Facardins.
Vol. IV. (Euvres melees and part of Zeneyde.
Vol. V. Id.
In Vol. I there is a note. " E. Neaulme debite aussi
les Memoires de la vie du Comte de Grammont, in 12."
The B.M. has a copy of Neaulme's edition of the Memoirs
dated 1732, but I have never come across a copy dated
1830. (Euvres choisies d'Ant. Hamilton, Paris, A. Gobin, 1830,
8vo. Edited by Lon Thiesse. With a notice historique
by L. S. Auger. Contains the Memoires de Grammont.
The edition entered in the Catalogue of the British Museum
as " (Euvres diverses du Comte Antoine Hamilton, A Londres.
1776. I2mo," and noticed by the writer on the article Hamilton
in the Dictionary of National Biography, is really Vol. I of the
1776 edition of Hamilton's Collected Works, but the page pre-
ceding the title-page proper and which should read (Euvres du
comte Antoine Hamilton, Tome I. Nouvelle Edition, Corrigee
et augmentee d'un volume, has visibly been cut out.
C. THE MEMOIRS
(" I take up a work of European celebrity and reflect awhile
on its bibliographic peculiarities which may almost pass for
romance. It is a Scottish work with regard to the family con-
nexion of the author : it is an Irish work with regard to the
place of his nativity. It is an English work as to the scenes
which it represents ; a French work as to the language in which
it was written ; a Dutch work as to the country in which it
came to light. It was formerly printed for public sale : it has
been twice printed for private circulation. It was formerly
316 ANTHONY HAMILTON
classed as fiction : it is now believed to be history." Notes
and Queries, Vol. IX, First Series, 1854, P- 3-)
1713. Memoires | De La Vie | Du Comte j De Grammont ; |
Contenant Particulierement | L'Histoire Amoureuse I De
la Cour d'Angleterre, | Sous le Regne | De Charles II. |
A Cologne, | Chez Pierre Marteau. | MDCCXIII | l (B.M.
and B. Nat.). I2mo.
1714. The Same. Seconde Edition. A Cologne chez Pierre
Marteau, MDCCXIV. i2mo. (B. Nat.).
1715. The Same. A Cologne chez Pierre Marteau, MDCCXV-
I2mo. (B.M.)
1716. The Same. Troisime Edition. Rotterdam, chez la
veuve de Nicolas Bos, 1716. I2mo. Dedicated to
Monsieur Johan van Grimpen, Conseiller et President
des e'chevins de la ville de Schiedam. (B.M.)
[1717 ?. A Contributor in Notes and Queries, Vol. IX, First
Series, 1854, p. 3, mentions an edition printed at Amster-
dam in 1717, and gives as his authority Catalogue de
Lamy, No. 3918. This is the only mention I have ever
seen of that edition.]
1731. The Same. Nouvelle Edition corrige*e et augmented d'une
Epitre de*dicatoire et d'un Abre'ge' de la Vie de M.
Hamilton, Auteur de ces Me*moires. La Haye, P. Gosse,
1731. I2mo. (B. Nat.)
1732. The Same. Par Mr le Comte Antoine Hamilton. Nouvelle
Edition, augmented d'un discours preliminaire du meme
Auteur. Utrecht, chez Etienne Neaulme, 1732. I2mo.
(B.M.)
[1737?. M. Kissenberth mentions in his bibliography an edition
published in 1737 at La Haye, chez Jean Neaulme.
32mo. This edition is not noticed by any bibliographer,
nor is it at the B.M. or in any of the libraries of
Paris.]
1741. Memoires du comte de Grammont par M. le C te Ant-
Hamilton. Nouvelle Edition, corrige'e et augmented d'un
Discours preliminaire du meme Auteur. La Haye,
P. Gosse et J. Neaulme, 1741. I2mo. (B. Nat.)
1 Gordon de Percel (The Abbe Lenglet Dufresnoy) mentions editions
printed in 1711 and 1712 at Rotterdam (De I' Usage des Romans, II, p. 95).
But if the Memoirs had been published as early as 1 7 1 1 there would have
been an English translation before 1714.
For descriptions of various copies of the 1713 ed. see Brunet, SuppU-
ment, p. 590 ; A. Claudin, Catalogue de la Bibliotheque de Rochebiliere (1884),
H. P- 333 I Jules Le Petit, Bibliographic des principals editions originales
d ecrivains fran fais du XV C au XVIII C siecle (1888), p. 478 (gives a repro-
duction of the title-page) ; Intermediare des Chercheurs, 1884, Vol. XVII,
p. 491. The Intermediare notices four different copies.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
317
1746. The same, par M. le comte Antoine Hamilton. Nouvelle
edition, augment ee d'un discours preliminaire mele de
prose et de vers, par le meme auteur, et d'un avertisse-
ment contenant quelques anecdotes de la vie du comte
Hamilton. A Paris, chez la veuve Pissot, Quay de Conti,
a la croix d'or. 1746. I2mo. (B.M.)
1749. Memoires de la Vie du Comte de Grammont, par M. le
Comte Antoine Hamilton. Nouvelle edition, Corrigee et
augmentee d'un Discours preliminaire du meme Auteur.
La Haye et & Geneve, chez les Fr. Cramer & Cl. Philibert.
1749. I2mo. Bibliotheque de Campagne, Vol. VI.
(B.M.)
1760. Memoires du Comte de Grammont, par le C. Antoine
Hamilton. 1760. 2 vols. I2mo. Vol. II has the
colophon, De rimprimerie de Didot, rue Pavee, 1760.
(B.M. The entry in the catalogue includes ' [Amster-
dam ?] '. One wonders whether this is the edition
referred to by the writer on the article Hamilton in the
Dictionary of National Biography, viz. Memoires du
Compte (sic) de Grammont. Amsterdam (?) 1760.
I2mo.)
1772. The same, par M. le comte Antoine Hamilton. Nouvelle
edition, augmentee de notes et d'eclaircissemens neces-
saires par M. Horace Walpole. Imprimee a Strawberry
Hill. 1772. 4to. With three portraits. Dedicated to
Madame du Deffand. One hundred copies only were
printed. (B.M. and B. Nat.)
1783. Reprinted by Dodsley, London.
[1776. Memoires du Comte de Grammont, par le C. Antoine
Hamilton, A Londres, 1776. 2 vols. I2mo. This
edition is really Vol. V and Vol. VI of the J 776 edition of
Hamilton's collected works. The collective title was
purposely omitted from these two volumes. The title-
page of the second volume reads, in addition to the
above, Tome Second. Nouvelle edition corrigee et
augmentee d'un volume, which, of course, refers, not to
the Memoirs, but to the Collected Works.]
1781. The same. Londres (Paris, Cazin), 1781. 2 vols. i8mo.
1781. The same. Par ordre De Monseigneur le Comte d'Artois.
A Paris. De rimprimerie de Didot 1'Aine. 1781. 3 vols.
i8mo. Three copies were printed on vellum, of which
one is preserved at the B.M. and one at the B. Nat.
1793. The same. Nouvelle edition ornee de 72 (78) portraits
graves d'apres les tableaux originaux. Londres, Edwards
[1793]. 4to. Most copies contain the Notes et Eclair-
cissements which have a separate pagination (pp. 77).
318 ANTHONY HAMILTON
1794. Reprinted, with an additional portrait of the
author. Contains an Avertissement sur cette nouvelle
edition.
1802. The same, Paris, J. B. Fournier pere et fils. 2 vols.
36mo. Bibliothdque portative du voyageur.
1811. The same. Nouvelle Edition . . . prce*de*e d'une notice
biographique sur le Comte Hamilton et enrichie de
soixante-quatre portraits grave's par E. Scriven. Londres
(Miller) 1811. 2 vols. 8vo. Que*rard also mentions a
4to edition. The above edition has been revised by
Bertrand de Moleville, who also translated the notes
from the 1811 English edition.
1812. The same, Paris, A. A. Renouard, 1812, 2 vols. i8mo.
1816. Reprinted. (Bibliotheque de la Sorbonne.)
1815. The same. Paris, Ledoux et Tenre* ; 2 vols. I2mo-
With illustrations.
1818. Reprinted.
1815. The same. Paris, P. Didot, 1815. 3 vols. i6mo. With
a Notice by L. S. Auger. Collection de*die*e Madame
la Duchesse d'Angouleme.
1819. The same. Paris, Me*nard et De*senne fils, 1819. 2 vols.
i8mo. With 8 illustrations. Bibliotheque fran9aise.
1820. The same, Paris, Lebegue, 1820, 2 vols. I2mo.
Bibliotheque d'une maison de campagne.
1823. The same, Paris, Delongchamps, 1823, 2 vols. 32mo.
With 2 illustrations.
1825. The same, Paris, Salmon, 1825. 8vo. With a portrait.
1826. The same. Paris, L. de Sure. 1826. 2 vols. 32mo.
Classiques fran9ais ou Bibliotheque portative de
1' amateur.
1826. The same. Paris, Werdet. 1826. 2 vols. 32mo. With
notes and an introduction by A. Lesourd. One portrait.
Collection des meilleurs romans fran$ais decline aux
dames.
1827. The same. Paris, Dauthereau. 2 vols. 32010.
1828. The same. Paris, Baudoin freres, 1828. 8vo. With a
Notice by L. S. Auger. Collection des meilleurs ouvrages
de la langue francaise en vers et en prose.
1829. The same. Paris, Guiraudet, 1829. 32mo. With a
Notice by L. S. Auger. Bibliotheque choisie.
1830. The same. Paris, Hiard, 1830. 2 vols. i8mo.
1831. The same. Paris, Pourtrat freres. 1831. 8vo. With a
Notice by L. S. Auger. Collection des meilleurs auteurs
de la langue francaise.
BIBLIOGRAPHY 319
1847. The same. Paris, Paulin, 1847. i6mo.
1851. Memoires du Chevalier de Grammont, precedes d'une
notice sur la vie et les ouvrages d' Hamilton par M. Auger
. . . suivis d'un choix de ses epitres en vers et de sa
correspondance. Paris, Didot freres, 1851. i8mo. This
edition also contains the voyage de Chapelle et Bachau-
mont.
Reprinted 1857, l8 6i, etc.
1859. The same, accompagnes d'un appendice contenant des
extraits du journal de S. Pepys et de celui de J. Evelyn
. . . des depeches du Comte de Comminges . . . d'une
introduction, de commentaires, et d'un index par G.
Brunet. Paris, Charpentier, 1859. izmo.
Reprinted 1864, ^73, 1883, etc.
1862. Memoires de Grammont et contes. Paris, Furne et Cie,
1862, 8vo. With a notice by L. S. Auger.
1866. Memoires du comte de Gramont, precedes d'une notice
sur 1'auteur par Sainte-Beuve. Paris, Gamier freres,
I2mo.
1874. Memoires du chevalier de Gramont, Paris, Librairie de la
Bibliotheque Nationale, 1872. 2 vols. 32mo. (Vols.
184 and 185 of the Bibliotheque Nationale.)
1876. Memoires du comte de Grammont, Histoire amoureuse
de la Cour d'Angleterre sous Charles II, R&mpression
conforme a 1'edition princeps (1713). Preface et notes
par Benjamin Pifteau. Frontispiece, Six eaux-fortes,
par J. Chauvet. Lettres, fleurons et culs-de-lampe, par
Leon Lemaire. Paris, Bonnassies, 1876, 8vo.
1876. Memoires du Chevalier de Grammont . . . publics avec
une introduction et des notes par M. de Lescure. Paris,
Jouaust, 1876. I2mo.
Nouvelle Bibliotheque Classique.
1877. Memoires du comte de Grammont. Avec notice, variantes
et index par Henri Motheau. Paris, Lemerre, 1877.
i6mo.
Petite Bibliotheque Litteraire, Auteurs Anciens.
1882. Histoire amoureuse de la cour d'Angleterre. (Memoires
du chevalier de Grammont). Nouvelle edition avec
notice et notes. Paris, Dentu, 1882. i6mo.
Bibliotheque choisie des chefs d'oeuvre franais et
e*tr angers.
1888. Memoires du chevalier de Grammont, Paris, Marpou et
Flammarion, 1888, i6mo. Auteurs celebres, Vol. 68.
320 ANTHONY HAMILTON
1888. Me*moires du Comte de Grammont. Un portrait de A.
Hamilton et trente-trois compositions de C. Delort
graves au burin et a 1'eau-forte par L. Boisson. Preface
de H. Gausseron. Paris, L. Conquet. 1888. 8vo.
D. TALES
(All the old editions are at the B.M. and the B. Nat.)
1730. Le Belier, | Conte. | Par M. le Comte Antoine | Hamilton. |
A Paris Rue S. Jacques ; | Chez Jean Fr. Josse, Libr.
Impr. ord. | de S. M. Cath. la Reine d'Esp. seconde |
Douairiere, a la Fleur de Lys d'Or | MDCCXXX. | Avec
approbation & Privilege du Roy. |
I2mo.
Histoire | de | Fleur d'Epine, | Conte. |
The rest of the title-page is the same as the above,
except for the vignette.
Les Quatre | Facardins, | Conte. |
The rest of the title-page is the same as that for le
Belier, except for the vignette.
1749. Histoire de Fleur d'Epine, Conte, par le Comte D'Hamil-
ton. Les Quatre Facardins, Conte, par M. le Comte
Antoine Hamilton. Le Belier, Conte; par Antoine
Hamilton.
Bibliotheque de Campagne ou Amusemens de 1'Esprit
et du Coeur. Tome VII, A La Haye, et se dbite a
Geneve, Chez les Fr. Cramer & Cl. Philibert. 1749. i2mo.
1781. Contes D'Hamilton. Par ordre de Monseigneur le Comte
d'Artois. A Paris. De rimprimerie de Didot 1'aine".
1781. 3 vols. i8mo. Only 3 copies printed on vellum ;
one is preserved at the B.M. and another at the B. Nat.
1785. Le Belier, Fleur d'Epine, les Quatre Facardins in Le
Cabinet des F6es. Tome XX, Amsterdam, 1785. 8vo.
Reprinted 1786. A GenSve chez Barde, Manget &
Compagnie, 1786. (Boston Public Library.)
1787. L'Enchanteur Faustus, Conte, in Voyages imaginaires,
songes, romans cabalistiques, Tome XXXV, Amsterdam,
1787. 8vo.
1815. Contes d'Hamilton, Paris, P. Didot, 1815, 3 vols. i6mo.
Collection des meilleurs ouvrages de la langue franaise
de*die*e aux Dames.
1826. The same. Paris, L. Debure, 1826, 2 vols. 32mo.
Collection de Classiques fransais.
1828. The same. Paris, Dauthereau, 1828, 2 vols. 32mo.
Collection des meilleurs romans fran^ais et Strangers.
BIBLIOGRAPHY 321
1860. Contes des fees ; par Perrault, Madame d'Aulnoy,
Hamilton et Madame Leprince de Beaumont, Paris,
Gamier freres, 1860, 8vo.
1862. Histoire de Fleur d'Epine, suivie de fragments choisis
des Memoires du Chevalier de Grammont. Avignon,
Chaillot. 1862. i8mo.
1868. Contes des fees, Le Belier, Histoire de Fleur d'Epine,
L'Enchanteur Faustus, Les Quatre Facardins, completes
par le Grand Jacques. Paris, Librairie du Petit Journal,
1868. 4 vols, 32mo. With illustrations.
1873. Le Belier, Fleur d'Epine, les Quatre Facardins, Zeneyde,
Paris, Librairie des Bibliophiles, 1873. 4 vols. i6mo.
With introductions by M. de Lescure. Les Petits Chefs
d'CEuvre.
1883. Fleur d'Epine in Le Monde enchante, Paris, Mesnil, 1883,
8vo.
1883. Le Conte des Quatre Facardins. Premiere Partie. Con-
tinuee par M***. Toulouse, Privat, 1883. I2rno.
1892. Histoire de Fleur d'Epine. Avec illustrations de Ch.
Meunier. Paris, Gedalge, 1892. 8vo.
1898. L'Enchanteur Faustus in Alexander Tille's Faustsplitter
in der Literatur des sechzehnten bis achtzehnten Jahr-
hunderts, Weimar, 1898.
II. TRANSLATIONS
(a) ENGLISH
A. THE MEMOIRS
(All the old editions, except where the contrary is stated, are to be
found at the BM.)
1714. Memoirs of the Life of Count de Grammont : Containing,
in Particular, the Amorous Intrigues of the Court of
England in the Reign of King Charles II. Translated
from the French by Mr. Boyer. London : Printed, and
are to be sold by J. Round in Exchange Alley, W. Taylor
at the ship in Paternoster-row, J. Brown, near Temple-
Bar, W. Lewis in Russel-Street, Covent-Garden, and
J. Graves next White's Chocolate-House in St. James's-
Street, 1714. 8vo.
1719. Memoirs of the English Court During the Reigns of King
Charles II and King James II, Containing in Particular
the Amorous Intrigues of K.C. and K.J. Dutchesses of
York, Orleans, Portsmouth, Cleveland, Richmond, Ladies
322 ANTHONY HAMILTON
Shrewsbury, Middleton, Chesterfield, Mrs. Jennings, Mrs.
Churchill, Mrs. Ballandin, Mrs. Hamilton, etc., the Dukes
of Buckingham, Ormond, Dover, Montague, Earls of
Rochester, Arran, Lumley, Carlingford, Lords Churchill,
Cornwallis, etc. Written Originally in French by the
Count de Grammont. Translated into English by Mr.
Boyer. The Second Edition : To which is added a
Compleat Key. London : Printed for J. Graves in St.
James's Street, J. Harbin at the New Exchange, and
J. Harrison at the Corner of the Royal Exchange in
Cornhill, 1719. 8vo.
The key has a separate title-page. A Key to Count Gram-
mont's Memoirs. London : Printed for J. Baker, at the Black-
Boy in Pater-Noster Row, 1715. Price 2d. 8vo.
1753. Memoirs of the Life of Count Grammont, London, 1753.
I2mo. (Lowndes II, p. 986.)
1760. The same. London, Thomas Payne, 1760, I2mo.
1793. Memoirs of Count Grammont by Count A. Hamilton.
A new translation with Notes and Illustrations. Em-
bellished with 76 Portraits of the principal Characters
mentioned in the Work. London, Harding [1793]. 4to.
(The British Critic, 1794, Vol. IV, p. 275.)
Brunet (Manuel) says that the translation is by
Maddison, and according to the British Critic the notes
were written by a Mr. Reid. They were translated for
the French 4to edition which appeared at the same time.
1809. The same. Second Edition. London : J. White, etc.,
1809. 3 vols. 8vo. With 40 portraits. A reprint of the
Quarto edition. (The London Library.)
1811. The same. A new edition ; to which are prefixed, a
biographical Sketch of Count Hamilton and a Transla-
tion of the Epistle to Count Grammont. London, Miller,
1811. 8vo. 2 vols. with 64 portraits by Scriven. This
edition has nearly 100 pages of valuable notes and illus-
trations from the pen of Sir Walter Scott. (Lowndes,
II, p. 986.)
1818. The same. Translated with notes and illustrations. A
new edition revised, London : Printed for Lackington,
Hughes, etc., 1818. 2 vols. I2mo. With two portraits.
1828. The same. London, W. H. Reid, 1828. 2 vols. 8vo.
With portraits.
1846. Memoirs of the Court of Charles the Second by Count
Grammont, with numerous additions and illustrations as
edited by Sir Walter Scott. London, 1846, Bohn's
Extra Volume. 8vo.
1859, 1891, Revised editions.
BIBLIOGRAPHY 323
1876. Memoirs of Count Grammont, London, Chatto and
Windus, 1876. 8vo.
1884. Memoirs of Count Grammont, London, Bickers, 1884,
2 vols. 8vo.
1889. The same. Edited with notes by Sir Walter Scott.
With . . . etchings . . . from original compositions by
C. Delort. London, J. C. Nimmo, 1889. 8vo.
Reprinted 1896 and 1902.
1889. Memoirs of the Count de Gramont. Illustrated with . . .
etchings and . . . portraits. Edited by H. Vizetelly.
London, Vizetelly & Co., 1889. 2 vols. 8vo.
1890. Memoirs of the Count de Grammont. . . . Translated with
notes by Horace Walpole and with additional notes . . .
by Sir W. Scott and Mrs. Jameson. London, Sonnen-
schein & Co. (1890), 8vo.
1902. The same, London and New York, the Unit Library,
1902, I2mo.
1903. Memoirs of Count Grammont. Edited by Gordon Good-
win. With Portraits. London, A. H. Bullen, 1903.
2 vols. 8vo.
1908. The same, Edinburgh, John Grant, 1908.
1905. The same. Edited with notes by Sir Walter Scott.
London, George Routledge & Sons, 1905, 8vo. With and
without etchings.
1906. Memoirs of the Count de Grammont, London, Hutchinson,
1906. 8vo. With a frontispiece portrait of the author.
Hutchinson's Popular Classics.
1906. Memoirs of Count Grammont. London, Sisley (1906).
I2mo. Panel Books.
1906. Memoirs of the Count Grammont Edited by Allan Fea.
Illustrated with over one hundred portraits from original
paintings. London, Bickers & Son ; New York, Charles
Scribner's Sons, 1906. 8vo.
1907. Memoirs of Count Grammont, London, Sisley, 1907,
I2mo. Sisley Books.
1908. The Memoirs of Count Grammont. London, York Press,
1908. 8vo.
B. TALES
1760. Select Tales of Count Hamilton. . . . Translated from the
French. London, J. Burd, 1760. I2mo. (B.M.)
(The Ram. The History of the Thorn Flower. The
History of the Four Facardins. The History of Zeneyde.)
1793. The History of May Flower. A Circassian Tale, London,
1793, 8vo.
324 ANTHONY HAMILTON
This edition was at one time in the Public Library,
Edinburgh.
1796. Second Edition. Salisbury, 1796. I2mo.
With a portrait. (B.M.)
1808. The four Facardins, in Vols. II and III of Romantic
Tales by M. G. Lewis, London. Printed ... for Longman,
Hurst, Rees and Orme, Paternoster Row, 1808, 4 vols.
I2IT1O.
1822. The Enchanter Faustus and Queen Elizabeth. Anecdote
extracted from the Doctor's unpublished Memoirs.
Blackwood's Magazine, August, 1822. No mention is
made of Hamilton.
1858. Reprinted in Tales from Blackwood, First
Series, Vol. II.
1849. Fairy Tales and Romances. Translated from the French
by M. Lewis, H. T. Ryde and C. Kenney. London, Bohn,
1849, 8vo.
Bonn's Extra Volume.
(The Four Facardins, Zeneyda, The Story of May-
flower, The Ram, The Enchanter Faustus.)
1899. The four Facardins. . . . Translated by M. G. Lewis, with
continuations by M. G. Lewis and the Duke de LeVis.
Printed for the Lutetian Society. London, 1899. 8vo.
AMERICAN EDITIONS
1836. Memoirs of Count Grammont, Philadelphia. Carey &
Hart, 1836. 8vo.
1888. Memoirs of Count Grammont, Philadelphia. Gebbie &
Co., 1888. 8vo.
1901. The Court of Charles II. Classic Memoirs, Vol. II. New
York, 1901. 8vo.
1910. Memoirs of the Court of Charles II. New York. F. P.
Collier & Son [1910]. (Memoirs of the Courts of Europe.
Vol. IV.)
(6) GERMAN
A. SELECTIONS
1 806. Auserlesene Schriften . . . ubersetzt v. Fr. Jacobs. Zurich,
Gessner, 1806, 2 parts. Contains Denkwiirdigkeiten des
Grafen von Grammont.
BIBLIOGRAPHY 325
B. THE MEMOIRS.
1745. Begebenheiten des Grafen von Grammont, Stockholm
(Leipzig, Gleditsch), 1745.
1780. Memoiren des Grafen Grammont. Aus Hamilton's
Brieftasche. Mit einer Vorrede herausgegeben von
Herrn Bibliothekar Reichard. Leipzig, Weygand, 1780.
2 vols. 8vo. (B.M.)
1806. See Selections.
1853. Memoiren des Grafen Grammont. ... In deutscher
Ubertragung nebst geschichtlichen Erlauterungen nach
Englischen Quellen von A. Heller. Leipzig, Costenoble,
1853, 8vo and i6mo.
1911. Der Chevalier von Gramont, Hamiltons Memorien und
die Geschichte . . . von Karl Federn, Miinchen, Georg
Muller, 1911, 2 vols. 8vo. A new translation.
n.d. Memoiren des Grafen von Gramont, aufgezeichnet von
L. Hamilton. Illustriert von F. von Bayros. Die
Ubersetzung besorgte Paul Friedrich. Berlin, Felix
Lehmann, 8vo.
C. TALES
Before 1777, Namur, a translation of Fleur d'Epine (cf. the
Preface to the Memoiren des Grafen Grammont, 1780.)
1777. Drei hiibsche kurzweil. Mahrlein, dargestellt u. beschrie-
ben vom Grafen Antoine Hamilton Nunmehro aber ihrer
sonderbaren Lieblichkeit wegen aus dem Franzschen ins
Deutsche gedolmetscht durch Gorg Bider (W. C. S.
Mylius) Halle, Hendel, 1777. (Harvard Library.)
1778. Doktor Faust, Erzahlung von Hamilton in Bibliothek der
Romane. Zweyter Band, Berlin, bey Christian Friedrich
Himburg, 1778, 8vo.
1787. Pertharite und Ferrandine (an Episode of le Belier).
Alboflede (an episode of Zeneyde) translated and adapted
by Wieland in Dschinnistan oder auserlesene Feen und
Geister Mahrchen. . . . Zweyter Band, Winterthur, bey
Heinrich Steiner und Compagnie. 1787. 8vo. (B.M.)
1790. Feen Mahrchen (Der Widder, Dornroschen, Die vier
Facardine) in Die blaue Bibliothek aller Nationen.
Zweyter Band, Gotha, Ettinger, and Weimar, Lit.
Industr. Compt., 1790, 8vo. (B.M.)
1861. Elisabeth und Faust in Lustiger Volkskalender fur
1861, Leipzig, Schafer. Slightly adapted by Adolph
Brennglas.
326 ANTHONY HAMILTON
1898. Doktor Faust, the 1778 translation, reprinted in Alexander
Tille, Die Faustsplitter in der Literatur des sechzehnten
bis achtzehnten Jahrhunderts. Weimar, 1898. 8vo.
(c) ITALIAN
1814. Memorie Del Conte Di Grammont, Scritte in lingua
Francese da Antonio Hamilton ora per la prima volta
recate in Italiano. Milano. Per Sonzogno e Compagnie,
2 vols. i8mo. (Harvard University Library.)
AUTHORITIES
A. MANUSCRIPTS
Public Record Office :
State Papers Domestic : Ireland, Vols. 351-354.
State Papers Foreign : France, Vols. 123-143.
British Museum :
Add. MSS., 18, 966. Letters from Mary of Modena to
Richard Hamilton.
Stowe MSS., 204, f. 28. Warrant to raise troops in Ireland
for the French service, 1674.
f. 88. Letter from George Hamilton to Lord Essex.
207, ff. 70, 176. Letters from George Hamilton to Lord
Essex.
Royal Irish Academy, Dublin :
M.S 24, G. i. Twenty-two letters from James II to Richard
Hamilton.
Archives du Ministere des Affaires Etrangeres :
Correspondance politique, Angleterre.
Memoires et Documents, Angleterre.
Archives du Ministere de la Guerre :
Correspondence, Minutes, etc., of the years 1667-1679 and
1688-1692.
Bibliotheque Nationale :
Manuscrit francais 12618 Chansonnier dit de Maurepas,
Vol. III.
Manuscrit francais 12690 Chansonnier dit de Clairambault,
Vol. V.
Cabinet des Titres, Vol. 345 dossier bleu Hamilton.
Cabinet des Titres, Pieces originales Vols. 162 and 1472.
Bibliotheque Mazarine :
Manuscrit 2298. Correspondance du Sieur Fumeron avec
Louvois 1689-1691.
Bibliotheque Sainte-Genevieve :
Manuscrit 3208. L'aventure du Chevalier de Grammont.
327
328 ANTHONY HAMILTON
B. PRINTED DOCUMENTS AND SOURCES
Abbotsford Club Publications. Letters and State Papers of the
Reign of James VI, Edinburgh, 1838.
Arlington, Henry Bennet, Earl of. Letters to Sir William
Temple, 2 vols. London, 1701.
Avaux, Comte de. Negotiations en Irlande. Privately printed,
1830.
Berwick, Duke of. Me*moires. Collection Michaud et Poujoulat.
Paris, 1839.
Burnet, Gilbert. History of My Own Time. Part I. Reign of
Charles II, ed. by O. Airy. 2 vols. Oxford, 1897-1900. ~
Vols. III-VI, Oxford, 1833.
A Supplement, ed. by H. C. Foxcroft. Oxford, 1902.
Bussy-Rabutin, Comte de. Histoire Amoureuse des Gaules.
Paris, 1868. Lettres, d. Lalanne. 6 vols. Paris, 1858.
Calendars of State Papers. Domestic 1601-1678, 1689-1695 :
Ireland, 1600-1665.
Carew MSS., 1601-1624.
Camden Society Publications :
1841. Narratives of Contests in Ireland in 1641 and 1690
(Macariae Excidium).
1843. Diary of Bishop Cartwright.
1851. Secret Service Money.
1858. Savile Correspondence.
1878. Hatton Correspondence.
1886. Nicolas Papers.
1890. Essex Papers.
Campana de Cavelli, Marquise de. Les derniers Stuarts a Saint-
Germain-en-Laye. 2 vols. Paris, 1871.
Carte, T. History of the Life of James, Duke of Ormond. 3 vols.
London, 1735.
Castlehaven, Earl of. Memoirs. Waterford, 1753.
Caylus, Madame de. Souvenirs et Correspondance. e*d. Raunie*.
Paris, 1889.
Chaulieu, 1'abbe de. (Euvres. 2 vols. Amsterdam, 1757.
Clanricarde, Marquis of. Letters and Memoirs. London,
1757-
Clarendon, Edward, Earl of. Life. Third edition. 3 vols.
Oxford, 1761.
Clarendon, Henry, Earl of. Correspondence. 2 vols. London,
1828.
AUTHORITIES 329
Clarendon State Papers, preserved in the Bodleian Library,
Calendar of. 3 vols. Oxford, 1869-1876.
Clarke, J.S. Life of James the Second, collected out of Memoirs
writ by his own hand. 2 vols. London, 1816.
Cosnac, Daniel de. Memoires. Paris, 1852.
Dalrymple, Sir John. Memoirs of Great Britain and Ireland.
The Second Edition. 2 vols. London, 1771-1773.
Dangeau, Marquis de. Journal. 19 vols. Paris, 1854-1860.
(Vol. 19 contains the Index.)
Daniel, Gabriel. Histoire de la Milice frangoise. 2 vols. Paris,
1721.
Divertissemens de Seaux. Trevoux, 1712.
Ellis Correspondence, ed. Hon. G. A. Ellis. 2 vols. London, 1829.
Evelyn, John. Diary, ed. A. Dobson. 3 vols. London, 1906.
Fenelon, Francois de Salignac de la Mothe. Correspondance
publiee pour la premiere fois sur les manuscrits originaux.
ii vols. Paris, 1827-1829.
Ferrar, J. An History of the City of Limerick. Limerick, 1767.
Fitzgerald, D. A Narrative of the Irish Popish Plot. London,
1680.
Gazette de France. 1673-1676, 1684.
Gilbert, J. T. A Jacobite Narrative of the War in Ireland.
Dublin, 1892.
Grey, Anchitell. Debates of the House of Commons from the
year 1667 to the year 1694. 10 vols. London, 1769.
Hamilton, A. A true Relation of the Actions of the Inniskilling
Men, etc. London, 1690.
Historical Manuscripts Commission publications, passim, especi-
ally
I4th Report, Appendix, Part V. MSS. of the Marquis of
Ormonde, 1895.
Manuscripts of the Marquess of Ormonde at Kilkenny
Castle, 1899.
Ditto. New Series. Vols. I-VII. 1902-1912.
The Deputy Keeper's Thirty-Second Report (Carte Papers),
1871.
Journals of the House of Commons.
Journals of the House of Lords.
King, W. Diary, ed. Prof. H. J. Lawlor. Dublin, 1903.
La Fare, Marquis de. Memoires et Reflexions, ed. Raunie.
Paris, 1884.
La Fayette, Madame de. Memoires (Histoire d'Henriette
d'Angleterre and Memoires de la Cour de France pour les
Annees 1688 et 1689), ed. E. Asse. Paris, 1890.
330 ANTHONY HAMILTON
Lart, C. E. Jacobite Extracts from the Parish Registers of
St. Germain-en-Laye, Vol. I, London, 1910, Vol. II, 1912.
Legg, L. G. Wickham. Extracts from Jacobite Correspondence,
1712-14. English Historical Review. Vol. 30, July, 1915.
Letters supposed to have passed between Waller and Saint-
Evremond. 2 vols. London, 1769.
Luttrell, Narcissus. Brief Historical Relation of State Affairs.
6 vols. Oxford, 1857.
MacCormick, W. A further impartial Account of the Actions
of the Inniskilling Men. London, 1691.
Macpherson, J. Original Papers. 2 vols. London, 1775.
Madame, Duchesse d'Orle*ans. Correspondance, d. Jaegle\
Deuxieme Edition revue et augmented. 3 vols. Paris,
1890.
Madan, F. Stuart Papers edited for the Roxburghe Club. 2 vols.
London, 1889.
Maintenon, Madame de. Correspondance Ge*ne*rale. 4 vols.
Paris, 1865.
Lettres ine'dites de, et de la Princesse des Ursins. 4 vols.
Paris, 1826.
Orlich, L. von. Brief e aus England uber die Zeit von 1674 bis
1678 in Gesandschaftsberichten des Ministers Otto von
Schwerin, Berlin, 1837.
Pellisson-Fontanier, P. Lettres historiques. 3 vols. Paris,
1729.
Pepys, S. Diary, ed. H. B. Wheatley. 10 vols. London, 1890-
1899.
Pinard, Commis au Bureau de la Guerre. Chronologic historique,
militaire, etc. 4 vols. Paris, 1760-1764.
Primi-Visconti, G. B. Me*moires sur la Cour de Louis XIV,
traduits de 1'Italien et publis . . . avec une Introduction
. . . par J. Lemoine. Paris, 1908.
Quincy, Marquis de. Histoire Militaire du Regne de Louis le
Grand. 7 vols. Paris, 1726.
Registers of the Privy Council of Scotland, Vol. IX et seq. Edin-
burgh, 1889, etc.
Reresby, Sir John. Memoirs, ed. J. J. Cartwright. London,
1875-
Royal Historical Society Publications :
1903. Perwich Papers.
1913. Selections from the Correspondence of Arthur Capel,
Earl of Essex.
Saint-vremond, (Euvres, 7 vols. Amsterdam, 1726.
(Euvres choisies, ed. Ch. Giraud. 3 vols. Paris, 1865.
AUTHORITIES
Saint-Hilaire, Me'moires, publics par la Socie*te de 1'Histoire de
France. 4 vols. Paris, 1903-1911.
Saint-Maurice, Marquis de. Lettres sur la Cour de Louis XIV,
ed. J. Lemoine. 2 vols. Paris, 1911-1912.
Saint-Simon, Due de. Memoires, ed. A. de Boislisle (Ed. des
Grands Ecrivains). 26 vols., Paris, 1878-1914. In progress.
The other volumes may be consulted in M. Cheruel's edition,
21 vols. Paris, 1873-1886.
Se'vigne', Madame de. Lettres (Ed. des Grands Ecrivains). 14
vols. Paris, 1862-1866.
Sourches, Marquis de. Memoires. 13 vols. Paris, 1888-1893
Index published, 1912.
Staal-Delaunay, Madame de. Me'moires, ed. Lescure. 2 vols,
Paris, 1877.
Story, G. A True and Impartial History of the . . . Wars of
Ireland. London, 1691.
A Continuation of the Impartial History of the Wars of
Ireland. London, 1693.
Turenne, H. de la Tour d'Auvergne. Lettres et Memoires, ed.
Grimoard. 2 vols. Paris, 1782.
Walker, G. A true Account of the Siege of Londonderry.
London, 1689.
C. MODERN WORKS
(Well-known works of reference such as the Dictionary of
National Biography or the Nouvelle Biographic Ge*nerale have
not been mentioned.)
Airy, O. Charles II. London, 1901.
The English Restoration and Louis XIV. London, 1885.
Anonymous (P. Cunningham ?). Bohn's De Grammont in
Eraser's Magazine, Nov., 1846.
Anonymous : Essai sur les Me'moires du Comte de Grammont
par Antoine Hamilton, extrait de 1' Esprit des journaux.
Tome 462. Mai, 1813.
Anonymous. Grammont's Memoirs in the Saturday Review,
Vol. 66, Nov. 24, 1888.
Baillon, Comte de. Henriette d'Angleterre. Paris, 1886.
Bastide, C. Anglais et Fran$ais du Dix-Septieme Siecle. Paris,
1912.
Bonn, M. J. Die englische Kolonisation in Irland. 2 vols.
Stuttgart and Berlin, 1906.
Boulger, D. C. The Battle of the Boyne, London, 1911.
Boyer, P. Notice sur Hamilton in Les Poetes Frangais, Vol. Ill,
4 vols. Paris, 1861.
332 ANTHONY HAMILTON
Brunetiere, F. Etudes critiques sur 1'Histoire de la Litte"rature
frangaise, Paris, 1880-1907.
Premiere Se*rie (Le Naturalisme au dix-septieme siecle).
Deuxieme SeYie (Les Precieuses).
Quatrieme Se*rie (Le roman frangais au dix-septieme siecle).
Histoire de la Littdrature Francaise Classique, Vol. II.
Dix-Septieme Siecle. Vol. III. Dix-Huitieme Siecle. Paris,
1912.
Brunot, F. Histoire de la Langue Francaise. Vol. IV. La
langue classique (1660-1715). Paris, 1913.
Burghclere, Lady. Life of James, First Duke of Ormonde.
2 vols. London, 1912.
Burton, Sir R. F. The Book of the Thousand Nights and a
Night. Library edition. 12 vols. London, 1894. See
especially Vol. 8 for the Terminal Essay upon the History
of the Nights.
Cambridge History of English Literature. Vol. VIII. The Age
of Dryden. Cambridge, 1912.
Cambridge Modern History. Vol. V. The Age of Louis XIV.
Cambridge, 1908.
Cartwright, J. (Mrs. Ady), Madame. London, 1896.
Charlanne, L. L' Influence francaise en Angleterre au Dix-
septieme Siecle. Paris, 1906.
Charnock, J. Biographia Navalis. 6 vols. London, 1794.
Chauvin, V. Bibliographic des Ouvrages Arabes. Li^ge, 1892.
Vols. IV-VI (Les Mille et Une Nuits).
Claretie, L. Le Roman en France au De*but du Dix-huitieme
Siecle, Le Sage Romancier. Paris, 1890.
Clark, R. Walpole and the Me*moires de Grammont. Modern
Language Review, Vol. X, Jan., 1915.
Collins, A. Peerage of England, augmented by Sir E. Brydges.
9 vols. London, 1812.
Conant, M. P. The Oriental Tale in England in the i8th Century,
New York, 1908.
Crauford, G. History of the Shire of Renfrew, continued by
William Semple, Paisley, 1782.
Cunningham, P. The Story of Nell Gwyn. London, 1852.
Dalton, C. English Army Lists and Commission Registers.
6 vols. London, 1894, etc.
D'Alton, J. King James's Irish Army List. 2 vols. Dublin,
1860.
Daniels, W. M. Saint-Evremond en Angleterre. Versailles,
1907.
Desnoiresterres, G. Les Cours Galantes. 4 vols. Paris, 1864.
AUTHORITIES 333
Des Robert, F. Les Campagnes de Turenne en Alsace. Paris,
1903.
Doumic, R. Etudes sur la Litterature Frangaise. Deuxieme
Serie (Brantome et " 1'honnete " Galanterie). Paris, 1898.
Du Boscq de Beaumont, G. et M. Bernos. La Cour des Stuarts a
Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Paris, 1912.
Dulon, J. Jacques Stuart, sa Famille et les Jacobites de Saint-
Germain-en-Laye. Saint-Germain-en-Laye, 1897.
Dunlop, J. C. History of Prose Fiction. 2 vols. London, 1888.
Duntzer, H. Hamilton's Erzahlung L'Enchanteur Faustus.
Blatter fur literarische Unterhaltung. No. 44. Oct. 27,
1866.
Engel, K. Zusammenstellung der Faustschriften vom 16
Jahrhundert bis Mitte 1884. Oldenburg, 1885.
Feletz, C. M. Melanges de Philosophic, d'Histoire et de Littera-
ture. Vol. Ill, Paris, 1828.
Fieffe, E. Histoire des Troupes Etrangeres au Service de la
France. 2 vols. Paris, 1854.
Firth, C. H. Scotland and the Protectorate. Edinburgh, 1889.
Forneron, H. Louise de Keroualle. Paris, 1885.
Galland, A. Les Mille et Une Nuits, nouvelle Edition augmentee
d'un essai historique sur les mille at une nuits par A. Loiseleur
Deslongchamps, Paris, 1838.
Geffroy, A. Madame de Maintenon d'apr^s sa correspondance
authentique. Paris, 1887.
Gordon de Percel (the abbe Lenglet Du Fresnoy). De 1'Usage
des Romans suivi d'une Bibliotheque des Romans. 2 vols.
Amsterdam, 1734.
Gordon, A. J. De Grammont's Memoirs, the Gentleman's Maga-
zine. April, 1896.
Grew, E. S. and M. S. The English Court in Exile. London,
1911.
Gwynn, Stephen. Anthony Hamilton. Macmillan's Magazine.
May, 1898.
Haile, Martin. James Francis Edward, the old Chevalier.
London, 1907. Queen Mary of Modena. London, 1905.
Hanna, C. A. The Scotch Irish. 2 vols. New York, 1902.
Harrison, J. The Scot in Ulster. Edinburgh, 1888.
Hickson, M. Ireland in the Seventeenth Century. 2 vols. London,
1884.
Hill, G. An Historical Account of the Plantation in Ulster.
Belfast, 1877.
Histoire Genealogique de la Maison de Gramont. Paris, 1870.
Jullien, A. Les grandes Nuits de Sceaux. Paris, 1870.
334 ANTHONY HAMILTON
Jusserand, J. J. A French Ambassador at the Court of
Charles II. London, 1892.
Kissenberth, W. Ant. d'Hamilton, sein Leben und seine Werke,
Inaugural Dissertation zur Erlangung der Doktorwiirde . . .
der Universitat Rostock. Berlin, 1907.
Koerting, H. Geschichte des franzosischen Romans, 2 vols.
Leipzig, 1885-1887.
La Chevre, F. Bibliographic des Recueils collectifs de Poesie,
publics de 1597 a 1700. 4 vols. Paris, 1901-1905.
La Force, Due de. Lauzun, un Courtisan du Grand Roi. Paris,
Lang, Andrew. Perrault's Popular Tales. Oxford, 1888.
Lanson, G. Choix de Lettres du Dix-septieme Siecle. Paris,
1909. L'Art de la Prose. Paris, 1909.
Lavisse, E. Histoire de France. Vols. VII and VIII.
Le Breton, A. Le Roman au Dix-septieme Siecle. Paris, 1890.
- Le Roman au Dix-huitieme Siecle. Paris, 1898.
Legrand Girarde, E. Turenne en Alsace. Paris, 1910.
Leland, T. History of Ireland. 3 vols. London, 1773.
Lenihan, M. Limerick. Dublin, 1866.
Lescure, M. de. Avant-Propos, Contes d'Hamilton, Vol. I (le
B61ier). Paris, 1873.
- Introduction to his edition of the Me*moires de Grammont.
Paris, 1876.
- Histoire des fe*es et de la litte'rature fe*e*rique en France.
Introduction to Le Monde Enchante*. Paris, 1883.
Lodge, J. Peerage of Ireland. . . . Revised, ... by Mervyn
Archdall. 7 vols. London, 1789.
Lodge, R. The History of England from the Restoration to the
death of William III. (The Political History of England.
Vol. XIII.) London, 1910.
Lotheissen, F. Geschichte der franzosischen Literatur im XVII
Jahrhundert. 4 vols. Vienna, 1877-1884.
Louandre, C. Chefs d'ceuvre des conteurs fransais apres La
Fontaine. 3 vols. Paris, 1874.
- Les conteurs francais au dix-huitieme siecle. Revue des
Deux Mondes. Sept., 1874.
Macaulay, Lord. History of England. 4 vols. London, 1855.
Martin, L. Hamilton. La Grande Revue. June 10, 1913.
Martino, P. L'Orient dans la Litte'rature francaise au dix-
septieme et au dix-huitieme siecle. Paris, 1906.
Mayer, O. Die Feenmarchen bei Wieland. Vierteljahrschrift
ftir Litteraturgeschichte. Vol. V. Weimar, 1892.
AUTHORITIES 335
Michel, Francisque. Les Frangais en Ecosse et les Ecossais en
France. 2 vols. Paris, 1862.
Mignet, F. A. M. Negotiations relatives a la Succession d'Espagne.
4 vols. Paris, 1835-1842.
Montegut, E. Des Fees et de leur Litterature en France. Revue
des Deux Mondes. April, 1862.
Morrillot, P. Le Roman en France depuis 1610 a nos Jours.
Paris, 1892.
Murray, R. H. Revolutionary Ireland and its Settlement.
London, 1911.
O'Callaghan, J. C. History of the Irish Brigades in the Service
of France. Dublin, 1854.
O'Conor, M. Military History of the Irish Nation. Dublin,
1845.
Perrens, F. T. Les Libertins en France. Paris, 1869.
Reynier, G. Le Roman Realiste au XVII e Siecle. Paris, 1914.
Rigault, H. Les Romanciers illustres, Hamilton. Journal pour
Tous, Vol. II. Dec. 20, 1856.
Rossel, V. La Litterature frangaise hors de France. Paris, 1895.
Histoire des Relations litteraires entre la France et FAlle-
magne. Paris, 1897.
Rousset, C. Vie de Louvois. 4 vols. Paris, 1864 (third edition).
Sainte-Beuve, C. A. Especially Causeries du Lundi, Vol. I
(Hamilton) and Vol. X (Fenelon, sa Correspondance spiritu-
elle).
Port Royal. 7 vols. Paris, 1867-1871.
Saintsbury, G. Anthony Hamilton. Tke Fortnightly Review,
October, 1890. (Reprinted in Essays on French Novelists.
London, 1891.)
History of the French Novel, Vol. I. London, 1917.
Saint-Victor, P. de. Anciens et Modernes. Paris, 1886.
Salomon, F. Geschichte des letzten Ministeriums Konigin Annas
von England. Gotha, 1894.
Sayous, P. A. Histoire de la Litterature francaise a 1'Etranger.
2 vols. Paris, 1861.
Schwarzkopf, F. Coulanges, Chaulieu et La Fare. Leipzig,
1908.
Scott, Eva. The King in Exile. London, 1905.
Travels of the King. London, 1907.
Sergeant, P. Little Jennings and Fighting Dick Talbot. 2 vols
London, 1913.
Steinman, G. S. Althorp Memoirs. Privately printed at Oxford,
1868-1869.
336 ANTHONY HAMILTON
Susane, le General. Histoire de la Cavalerie franchise. 3 vols.
Paris, 1874.
Histoire de ITnfanterie francaise. 5 vols. Paris, 1876.
Tilley, A, Pre*ciosite after Les Precieuses Ridicules. Modern
Language Review, Vol. XL Jan., April, July, 1916.
Ulster Journal of Archaeology. Vol. V (Richard Talbot, Duke of
Tyrconnel). Belfast, 1857.
Vinet, A. Histoire de la LitteYature francaise au dix-huitime
Siecle. 2 vols. Paris, 1853.
INDEX
Abbadie, Jacques, 115
Abercorn branch of the Hamilton
family settled in Ireland, i
Aberdeen, Lord, see Gordon
Achery, Dom Luc d', 237 n. i
Ah. Quel Conte ! 234 . i, 255
Aix-la-Chapelle, Treaty of, 42
Albemarle, Duchess of, see Audebert
Albemarle, Earl of, see Keppel
Alboftede, 261
Albret, Hotel de, 181
Alegre, d', translator, 240
Alincourt, Marquis de, 73
Alsopp, Mr., the King's brewer, 14
Altenheim, battle of, 59
Amadis, der neue, 262
Amadis romances, 172, 177, 244 n.2,
249, 262 n. 3
Ambassadors : entries of, 15;
Austrian, see L'Isola ; Dutch, 55,
66, see also Van Beuninghen ;
English, in Paris, see Holies,
Montagu, Sunderland (under
Spencer) ; French, see Avaux,
Barillon, Colbert de Croissy, Com-
inges, Courtin, Ruvigny ' Mus-
covite,' 215, 216, 263 n. i ;
Spanish, 15, 66, see also Molina,
Cond6 de Swedish, 1 5
Amileton, Amilthon, Amilton, 93
n. 5
Amours de Gregoire VII, 196
Amours des Dames illustres, 198
Anecdotes de la Cour de France, 272
Anne, Queen, 125, 284
Anne d'Autriche, wife of Louis XIII,
182
Antrim, see MacDonnell
A rabian Nights, ridiculed by Hamil-
ton, 233, 234, 241, 247-8, 250-2
Galland's translation, 239, 240,
241, 247 n. i, 250 n. 3, 251 n. 2 ;
linked with Hamilton's tales, 246,
2 5! 2 53 .' framework, 250 ; end-
ing, 251 n. 2 ; satirised by Wai-
pole, 259 ; Galland translated
into German, 261
Argyle, Earl of, see Campbell
Arlaud, Jacques Antoine, painter,
139
Arlington, see Bennet
Arlo, see Arlaud
Armancour, see Perrault
Army, English : Catholics serving
in, 29, 30, 32-3, 45
Regiments : 5x11 DRAGOON
GUARDS, 81 ; LIFE GUARDS,
28, 29, 31
Army, French : English, Irish and
Scottish regiments serving in,
2 9-35 4 2 ~3 ; gi ve satisfaction,
50; not recalled in 1674, 51 ;
with Turenne, 53 ; Parliament
desires recall, 55, 59-62 ; re-
ported to have surrendered, 63 ;
recruiting, 65 ; with Crequy, 66 ;
officers to return from recruiting,
66 recalled to England by Par-
liament, 66-7 ; distrusted in
France, 68 ; cashiered, except
DONGAN, 68
French officers in Ireland, dis-
liked by Irish soldiers, 86-7 ;
find the Irish unsatisfactory,
92 M.I, 99, 100-101, 103, re-
turn, 107
French troops, sent to Ireland,
85 arrive, 97, 99, return, 103
Regiments, English : CHURCHILL,
53, 54, 58 ; GENDARMES AN-
GLAIS, 44, 45 ; raised, 29-32 ;
departure for France, 32 ; uni-
form, 34 n. 3, n. 5 ; satis-
factory, 35 ; in Flanders, 63 ;
sold, 63, 64 disbanded, 63
n. 7 ; JONES, 42 and n. 2 ;
MONMOUTH, see ROYAL AN-
GLAIS ; ROYAL ANGLAIS, foot,
42, 43, 53, 54, 58, 66, 68 ;
horse, 42, 68, 80
Regiments, French : ANJOU, 54 ;
BRETAGNE, 54; FURSTENBERG,
69 ; GENDARMES BOURGUIG-
NONS, 34 n. 4 ; GENDARMES
337
338
ANTHONY HAMILTON
FLAMANDS, 34 n. 4 ; HAMIL-
TON (second regiment, for-
merly NAVAILLES), 70, 72 ;
LA VALLETTE, 47 ; NAVAILLES,
70 ; ROYAL ROUSSILLON, 70 ;
TURENNE, 54
Regiments, Irish : DONGAN, see
HAMILTON ; HAMILTON (first
regiment), 6, 42, 93, 98 ; raised,
43-5 ; articles of capitulation,
43, 277 ; joins French army, 45 ;
at Utrecht, 46 ; stationed at
Zutphen, 47 ; difficulties, 47 ;
recruits from the regiment de
ROSCOMMON, 47 ; commended,
48 ; with Turenne, 48 ; re-
cruits raised in Ireland, 52 ;
at Sinzheim, 53 ; at Enzheim,
54 ; recruiting in Ireland, 55-7;
with Turenne in 1675, 57 ; at
Altenheim, 59 ; commended,
59 n. 5 ; stationed in Toul, 62 ;
recruiting in Ireland, 62 ; with
Luxembourg's army, 63 ; at
Saverne, 63 ; given to Dongan,
64 ; known by his name, 65 ;
recruits, 65 ; stationed at
Vitry and St. Dizier, 66 ;
criticized, 66 ; at Fribourg, 66 \
favoured while English and
Scottish regiments are dis-
trusted, 68 ; given to Richard
Hamilton, 69 ; at Aix, 69 ; in
Roussillon, 69 ; disbanded,
69, 70. ROSCOMMON, 42, 43,
47-
Regiments, Scottish : DOUGLAS,
30, 31,42, 53, 5 8, 60 n. 4, 66, 68;
GARDES DU CORPS ECOSSAIS,
33 ; GENDARMES ECOSSAIS,
34 ; HEPBURN, 30
Army, Irish: 76-8, 97, 100-1,
1 06 ; soldiers dislike French
officers in Ireland, 86, 87 ; Irish
officers threatened by Rosen, 89 ;
soldiers considered unsatisfactory
by French, 92 n. i, 99, 100-1,
103 ; brigade sent to France, 85,
97, 98, 125 ; troops come with
Sarsfield, 107
Regiments : BOFIN, 288 ; BUT-
LER, 79, 288 ; CLANCARTY,
Earl of, 288 ; CLIFFORD
(dragoons), 295 ; CREAGH, 288;
DUNCAN (dragoons), 288, 294 ;
FITZGERALD, Sir John (foot),
288 ; FITZJAMES, Henry, 293,
295 ; GALMOY (horse), 288 ;
GRACE, 288, 293 ; HAMILTON,
Anthony, 78,80,81 ; HAMILTON,
John (formerly MOUNTJOY),
85, 97 ; HAMILTON, Richard
(dragoons), 74, 79, 80 ; HAMIL-
TON, Richard (horse), 79, 80,
8 1 ; LORD MAYOR, 293 ; LORD
FTIIOR, see FITZJAMES ; LUT-
TRELL (horse), 288, 295 ; MAC-
MAHON, 295 ; MOUNTJOY, 74,
8 5. 93 ' NEWCOMEN, Sir
Thomas, 74, 77 ; NUGENT, 293,
295 ; O'NEAL, Gordon, 295 ;
PURCELL (dragoons), 288 ;
RUSSELL, 77 ; SLANEY (foot),
295 ; SUTHERLAND (horse),
295 ; TYRCONNEL, 74, 295 ;
WESTMEATH (formerly Tool),
295
Arnauld, Antoine, 120
Arran, see Butler, Richard
Artagnan, Comtesse d', 134
Arthur, Marquise, 139
Artois, Comte de (Charles X), 264
M. 2
Arundel, Henry, third Baron
Arundel, 36
Assigny, Henriette de Bordes d',
204 n. i
Astree, 233
Athcncptim, The, quoted, 264
Athlone, capture of, 107
Audebert, Marie Gabrielle d', wife
of Henry Fitzjames, Duke of
Albcmarle, 134-5, 139
Auffroy, d', General, 287
Aughrim, battle of, 107
Aulnoy, Marie, Comtesse d', 192,
193 n. 3, and n. 6, 194, 195, 196 ;
historical novels, 197 ; Memoires
de la Cour d'Anglcterre, 199-202 ;
fairy tales, 231, 233, 234
Aumont, Louis Marie Victor, Due d',
283
Auneuil, Madame d', writer, 231,
254
Avaux, Comte, 92 n. i ; arrival,
84 ; his advice useless, 84 ;
blames Richard Hamilton, 85 ;
begins negotiations for exchange
of troops, 85 ; accuses Richard
Hamilton of caballing against the
French, 87 ; considers him unfit,
88 ; doubts his loyalty, 91 ;
criticizes Anthony Hamilton, 95 ;
on the Hamiltons, 96 ; involved
in intrigues, 96 ; to return to
France, 97 ; to bring no Hamil-
tons with the Irish brigade, 98 ;
leaves Ireland, 98
INDEX
339
Avaux, Negotiations, 84*2.4. 277
n. i
Aventures d'Abdalla, fils d'Anif, 240
Aylesbury, Lord, 81
B., Mademoiselle, see Bulkeley,
Henrietta
Bachaumont, Francois Le Coigneux
de, 267
Bachelier de Salamanque, Ic, 180
Bagot, Mary, afterwards wife of
Sir Charles Berkeley, Lady Fal-
mouth, 210, 217
Balzac, Jean Louis Guez de, 180
Barbin, Claude, the publisher, 247
Bardou, Mademoiselle, maid of
honour, 218, 225
Barillon, Paul d'Amoncourt, am-
bassador, 67, 284
Barnewall, Mary (Hamilton), Vis-
countess Kingsland, 96, 300
Barnewall, Nicholas, third Viscount
Kingsland, 300
Baudot de Juilly, Nicolas, 192, 195
Bayle, Pierre, 175, 1 80, 184 ; on the
new historical novels, 191, 192,
195. 196 ' n Courtilz de Sandras,
194; on Hattige, 200 n. i
Beaujer, ,128
Beaulieu, Dr., 298
Beaulieu, Lord, of Ditton Park, 299
Beaumarchais, Pierre Augustin
Caron, de, 225 n. 5
Beauvilliers, Duchesse de, daughter
of Colbert, 115, 118
Beckford, William, influenced by
Anthony Hamilton, 257-8 ; his
Vathek, 259
Bedingfield, Elizabeth, afterwards
wife of Thomas Wetenhall, men-
tioned in the Memoirs, 28, 185,
209, 213, 224
Belier, le, 255, 260 ; written for
Henrietta Bulkeley, 140, 163,
232 n. 4 ; negligences, 171 n. 2 ;
founded on a ' medieval docu-
ment/ 172, 237 ; said to have
furnished suggestions to Goethe,
230 n. 2 ; date, 232 n. 4 ; satiri-
cal intentions, 233, 237-8, 241,
250 ; summary, 235-7 ; allusions
238-9, 253 ; used by Wieland,
261, 262 ; printed, 263 ; trans-
lated, 264 ; manuscript copy,, 311
Bellasis or Belasyse, Lord, 41 n. 3
Belief onds, Marechal de, 37
Bellegarde, Abbe, quoted, 239
Bellenden, Miss, maid of honour,
218
Bennet, Henry, first Earl of Arling-
ton, 27, 31, 35, 44, 50, 109; in
Madrid, 9, 10 ; ridiculed by
Anthony Hamilton, 10, 211, 217,
224^; displeased at James Hamil-
ton's influence over Madame, 14 ;
demands declaration of war at
Madame's death, 37 ; traite
simule, 38 . 3 ; incident with
Gramont, 39 ; letter from
Gramont, 40-1 ; on George
Hamilton, 45
Benserade, Isaac de, 172 n. 3, 177,
178
Bentinck, William, Earl of Port-
land, 127
Bentley, Richard, bookseller, 201 w.
Berger extravagant, 233
Bergerac, Cyrano de, 255
Berkeley, Charles, Lord Fitzhard-
ing, afterwards Earl of Falmouth,
and the Memoires de Grammont,
21, 209, 213 n. i, 217
Bernard, Catherine, writer, 192
Berry, Charles, Due de, 140, 147
Berry, Lieut. -Col. William, 94
Bersot, Ernest, 183
Berwick, Duchess of, see Bul-
keley, Ann
Berwick, Duke of, see Fitzjames,
James
Bethune, siege of, 298
Bibliotheque des Romans, 193 w. I
Bidle, Mrs., 139
Bignon, Jean Paul, Abbe, 240
Biographical Memoirs of Extra-
ordinary Painters, 258
Blagge, Henrietta Maria, 185, 218
n. i, 263 n. i
Blagge, Margaret, afterwards Mrs.
Godolphin, 218 . i
Bofin, regiment, 288
Bonn, Henry George, 218, 251 n. i
Boileau-Despreaux, 180, 182 ; and
Anthony Hamilton, 147, 148, 177,
178, 202 ; influence on the French
novel, 191
Boislile, M. A. de, 17 n. 3, 22 n. 4,
165 n. i
Boisseleau, French officer in Ire-
land, 100-1, 103
Booth, Charles, groom of the Bed-
chamber, 157, 296
Bossuet, Jacques Benigne, 177, 182
Boufflers, Louis Franois, Chevalier
de, afterwards Due de, 59, 130
Boufflers, Catherine Stanislas Jean,
Chevalier de, 254
Bougeant, Pere, 250 w. 2, 255, 257
340
ANTHONY HAMILTON
Bouillon, Cardinal de, (Emmanuel
Theodose de la Tour d'Auvergne),
129, 130
Bouillon, Marie Anne Mancini,
Madame de, 132
Bouillons, the, 181
Bourgogne, Louis, Due de. Dau-
phin, 117, 156, 178, 234
Bourgogne, Marie Adelaide,
Duchesse de, 122, 254
Bournonville, General, 53, 54
Boursault, Edme, 193 n. 2
Bouteville, Mademoiselle de (An-
gelique de Montmorency), 206,
303
Boyd, Marion, wife of James, first
Earl of Abercorn, 2
Boyd, Sir Thomas, i
Boyer, Abel, translator of the
Memoires de Grammont, 207 n. I.
213 n. i, 227
Boyle, Roger, Earl of Orrery, 57
Boyne, Viscount, see Hamilton,
Gustavus
Boyne, battle of the, 72, 99-102
Brandenburg, Grand Elector of, 48
Brantome, Pierre de Bourdeille, de,
198, 209
Br6mond, Gabriel de, 194, 200-201 n .
Brice, Dom Gregorio, 187, 224
Brinon, attendant of the chevalier
de Gramont, 186, 209, 224
Brisacier, Marquis de, 185
Brook, Margaret, afterwards Lady
Denham, 213, 216, 218
Brounker, Henry, third Viscount,
218, 219
Browne, Frances, wife of Sir John
Reresby, 21 n. 2
Brunetidre, Ferdinand, 249 . i
Buchan, Thomas, Major-Gen., 294,
295
Buckingham, Duke of, see Villiers,
George
Buckinghamshire, Duchess of, sec
Darnley, Lady Catherine
Bulkeley, Ann, Duchess of Berwick,
139, 140, 179, 204, 267, 310;
Hamilton describes her life in her
husband's absence, 141-4
Bulkeley, Charlotte, Viscountess
Clare, I38n. 2, 139, 140, 146,
162 n. 3, 204
Bulkeley, Henrietta, 133, 138*1. 2,
139, 142, 178, 204, 232 n. 4, 239 ;
Hamilton writes verses with her,
140 ; relations with Anthony
Hamilton, 144 6 ; his letters to
her, 268
Bulkeley, Laura, 139, 140, 141, 204
Bulkeley, Lady Sophia, 139, 141,
204, 213
Burgh, Anne de, Lady Clanricarde,
6
Burgh, Ulick de, fifth Earl of
Clanricarde, 9
Burnet, Gilbert, Bishop, 81, 101,
213, 217; History of his Own
Times, 221
Burton, , an engineer, 292
Burton, Sir Richard Francis, 241
Bussy-Rabutin, Roger, Comte de,
Son. 2, 70*1.7, ii in. 5, 115,
203, 205 ; on Gramont, 151 ;
Hamilton is of his school, 197-8
Butler, Miss, at St. Germain, cousin
of the Hamiltons, 1 38 n. 2
Butler, Dorothy, Countess of Arran,
6
Butler, Elizabeth, Duchess of Or-
monde, 6, 7, 49
Butler, Elizabeth, Lady Thurles, 7
Butler, Elizabeth, wife of Lord
Chesterfield, mentioned in the
Memoires. 209, 213, 215, 216, 219
Butler, Emilia de Beverwaert,
Countess of Ossory, 307
Butler, James, first Duke of Or-
monde, 3, 4, 5 and n. 2, 12, 109,
113, 172 ; at Caen, 7 ; kindness
to relatives, 8 ; hides in Lady
Hamilton's apartments, 10 ;
friend of James Hamilton, 15, 16,
1 7 ; kindness to Anthony Hamil-
ton, 7 1 ; figures in the Memoires
de la Cour d'Angleterre, 201 ;
mentioned in Hamilton's
Memoires, 216, 305, 306; letter
from Gramont, 283
Butler, Lord John, 44, 79
Butler, the Hon. Mary, see Hamil-
ton, Lady Mary
Butler, Pierce, Viscount Galmoy,
108, 155 n. 2
Butler, Richard, Earl of Arran, 8,
24, 71, 80, 8 1, 20 1 ; mentioned in
Hamilton's Memoires. 13, 209,
213, 217, 307
Butler, Richard, of St. Germain,
cousin of the Hamiltons, 165
Butler, Thomas, Earl of Ossory, 8,
177
Butler, regiment, 79, 288
Butlers, the, 104, 124
Byng, Admiral, 256
Byron, Lord, 218, 260
Cabal Ministry, 36, 50
INDEX
Cambridge History of English Litera-
ture, 22 n. 4, 190, 218 n. i
Cameran, M. de, 209, 222, 303
Campana de Cavelli, Marchesa,
127
Campbell, Archibald, ninth Earl of
Argyle, 75
Campistron, Jean Galbert de,
dramatist, 132, 269
Candide, 256
Capel, Arthur, Earl of Essex, Lord
Lieutenant of Ireland, to permit
George Hamilton to raise re-
cruits, 52 ; again to facilitate
raising of recruits, 56 ; obliged
to take steps against, 57, 282 ; to
allow recruiting, 65
Carignan, Prince Thomas de, 18 n. i
Carnegie, Anne, Lady Southesk,
187, 213
Carnegie, Robert, Earl of Southesk,
308
Carol, , Jacobite officer in Ire-
land, 106 n. 2
Carte, Thomas, quoted, 4
Caryll, John, titular Baron Caryll,
134, 138
Caryll, John, the younger, 139
Casaubon, Isaac de, 172 n. i
Cassandre, 177, 233
Castlemaine, Lady, see Villiers,
Barbara
Cat heart, Captain, Orange officer,
94
Catherine of Braganza, wife of
Charles II, 284 ; mentioned in
Hamilton's Memoires, 183, 209,
213, 217, 215 n. 4, 223, 306-9
Catholics, see Roman Catholics
Cavendish, William, first Duke of
Devonshire, 200 . i, 201
Cavoie, Louis d'Oger, Marquis de,
III, 120
Cayet, Pierre Victor Palma, 229
Caylus, Anne Claude Philippe,
Comte de, and the fairy tale, 231,
234, 235, 239 n. 6, 240 n. 4, 255,
257
Caylus, Marthe Marguerite, Com-
tesse de, 181, 209 ; on Madame
de Gramont, 114, 116 ; her con-
version, 118 n. i ; relations with
Hamilton, 130, 147, 178 ; her
portraits, 224
Cerise, M., the host, 209, 224
Certain, Marie Francoise, harpsi-
chord player, 132
Cervantes, 232
Challes, Gregoire de, 192
Chamfort, Nicolas Sebastien Roch
de, 226
Chamillart, Michel, n8n. 4, 156,
2 53
Champagnac, J. B., 265
Chapelle, Claude Emmanuel Luil-
lier, 267
Charlanne, M. Louis, 211
Charles II, 74, 300^.2, 131, 199,
210, 212 ; in France, 8-10 > re-
wards Sir George Hamilton, 12 ;
favours James Hamilton, 14 ; is
led by a few intimates, according
to Pepys, 14 ; attitude to prece-
dence of ambassadors, 15, 16 ;
likes Gramont, 20 ; tries to find
him a wife, 21, 22 ; wedding
present, 24 ; Lady Castlemaine's
conversion, 24 n. i ; recom-
mends the Gramonts to Madame,
25 ; asks that they may be
lodged in her palace, 26 ; letters
to Madame, 14 n. 3, 21, 22 n. i,
25 and n. 3, 300 n. 2 ; attitude to
Catholicism, 29 ; to men entering
French service, 30-2 ; pension
to George Hamilton, 35 ; Triple
Alliance, 35 ; Treaty of Dover,
36, 42 ; present to Gramont, 36 ;
Gramont's estimate of him, 39 ;
considered to be in Gramont's
debt, 40, 41 ; asks Louis XIV
to be relieved of obligations, 43 ;
authorizes raising of the regiment
d'Hamilton, 43-5 ; compelled to
peace with United Provinces, 5 1 ;
but does not withdraw regiments
from French army, 51 ; directs
Essex to let Geoipfe Hamilton
raise recruits, 52 ; again
authorizes recruiting, 5 5 ; evades
recall of regiments in France,
60-2 ; defensive agreement with
Louis XIV, 62 ; treats Gramont
as Duke Mazarin's envoy, 62 ;
regrets George Hamilton's death,
63 ; desires regiment to be given
to Lieut. -Col. Dongan, 64 ; had
wanted G. Hamilton's wife to be
Dame du Palais, 64 n. 5 ; titles
for Lady Hamilton, 65 ; char-
acteristic reply to Courtin, 65 ;
directs Essex to allow recruiting,
65 ; forced to recall regiments
from France, 67 ; displeased at
their dismissal, 68 ; writes in
favour of Richard Hamilton, 71 ;
considered to have wronged the
Hamiltons, 109 ; mentioned in
342
ANTHONY HAMILTON
Hamilton's Memoires, 186, 190,
198 n. 4, 202, 203, 209, 213, 214
n. i, 216-19, 221, 223, 227 . i,
307-9 ; hero of Br6mond's Hat-
tie e, 200 and n. i ; his court
described in various memoirs, 22 1
Charles VII of France, 33
Charron, Pierre, 179, 180
Chateaubriand, Francois Rene,
Vicomte de, 259
Chatelicr, Mademoiselle du, 180
Chatenay, ffete de, 134-6, 268
Chaulieu, Guillaume Amfrye, Ably-
de, 139, 140, 161. 202, 270;
at the Temple and Sceaux, 131-3,
1 80, 182 ; in Bulwer Lytton's
Devereux, 184
Chesterfield, Lord, see Stanhope
Chesterfield, Lady, see Butler,
Elizabeth
Chevalier de St. George, see James
Francis Edward Stuart
Chevalier franfais a Londres, It, 225
Chevalier franfais a Turin, le t 22$
Chevrcusc, Jeanne Marie, Duchesse
de, daughter of Colbert. 115, 118
Chichester, Sir Arthur, Lord Deputy
of Ireland, 2
Churchill, Arabella, mentioned in
the Memoires, 161, 204. 209, 213
Churchill, John, first Duke of Marl-
borough, 157; presented to
Louis XIV, 26 ; at Enzheim, 54 ;
joins William of Orange, 80 ; on
the Chevalier de St. George,
1 56 ; figures in Hattize, 200 . i ;
in Hamilton's Memoires, 204, 215,
227 n. i
Churchill, Sarah, Duchess of Marl-
borough, 28
Churchill, regiment, 53, 54, 58
Citizen of the World, 257
Clancarty, Earl of (first creation),
see MacCarthy, Donogh
Clancarty, Earl of (second creation),
see Trench
Clancarty, regiment, 288
Clanricarde, see Burgh
Clare, Viscount, see O'Brien
Clarendon, see Hyde
CUlie. 174
Clement XI, Pope, 158
Cleodate, 48
Cleveland, Duchess of, sec Villiers,
Barbara
Clifford, Thomas, first Baron Clif-
ford, letter to, 46 n. 3
Clifford's Dragoons, 295
Coaslin, Due de, 1 34
Colbert, Charles, Marquis de
Croissy, ambassador, 51, 2 1 <> ;
on Buckingham, 37 ; incident
with Gramont, 38-41
Colbert, Jean Baptiste, lives of, 192,
195
Colbert, Jean Baptiste, Marquis de
Seignelay, 89, 1 1 1
Colbert, Jean Baptiste, Marquis de
Torcy, and Richard Hamilton's
dismissal, 159, 160
Colepeper, Elizabeth, wife of James
Hamilton, 16, 17, 50
Colepeper, Sir John, 16
Coligny, Gaspard IV de, 206
Colvill, Sir Robert. 82
Cominges, Gaston Jean Baptiste de,
ambassador, resents James Ham*
ilton's interference in French
affairs, 15-16 ; on the animosity
roused by the question of Holies'
entry, 15 ; on Gramont, 19, 20,
24 n. i ; on Elizabeth Hamilton,
21 n. 3, 22 ; his letters, 22 n. 2,
213
Conant, Dr. Martha, 257
Conde, le grand, 50, 178, 226;
Gramont his ecuyer, 18 and n. 2 ;
Gramont aids him in the abduc-
tion of Mile de Bouteville, 206 ;
complains of the Gendarmes
Anglais, 35 n. i ; crosses the
Rhine, 45, 46 n. 3 ; at Utrecht,
48 ; at Seneffe, 53 ; campaign of
1675, 57 ; commands Turenne's
army, 59 ; retires, 62 ; ridiculed
by St. Evremond, 1 76 ; men-
tioned in Hamilton's Memoires,
1 86, 187, 209, 304
Condc, Louis Henri de Bourbon.
Prince de, grandson of the above,
130, 134, 135
Conner, Col., 80
Contes de ma Mere FOye, 231
Contes Moraux. 260
Conti, Armand de Bourbon, Prince
de, 206
Conti, Marie Anne de Bourbon,
Princesse de, 72, 73, 239, 254
Conversation du Marechal d'Hoc-
quincourt, 1 76
Cornbury, Lord, see Hyde
Corneille, Pierre, 48, 175
Cornwallis, Charles, third Lord.
2i4n.4
Coulanges, Madame de, 231 n. 3
Coulanges, Philippe Emmanuel de,
130, 148, 161, 203
Courdimanche, M. le cure de, 310-1 1
INDEX
343
Courtin, Honore, ambassador, urged
by Charles IT to procure pension
for George Hamilton's widow,
64 ; on English etiquette, 65
n. i ; asks Charles II to authorize
recruiting, 65 ; on Gramont,
212 M. 2
Cousin, Victor, 239
Creagh, regiment, 288
Crebillon, Claude Prosper Jolyot de
(Crebillon fils), 234, 255 ; trans-
lations of his tales, 257 ; his
Schah Baham, 259 ; admired
by Wieland, 261 ; story of
Hamilton's papers, 264 . 2
Crequy, Marcchal de, 66
Cromwell, Oliver, campaign in
Ireland, 5 ; regard for Ormonde
and Sir George Hamilton, 6 ;
Gramont visits England in his
lifetime, 19 ; portrait by Hamil-
ton, 211
Crosby, ,128
Culpeper, sec Colepeper
Cunningham, Peter, his Story of
Nell Gwyn, 25 n. 3, 167 n. 5, 212,
213 n. i
Dalrymple, Sir John, 101, 212, 300
n. 2
Daly, Dennis, Judge, 106
Damnable Life and Deserved Death
of Dr. John Faustus, 229
Danby, see Osborne
Danemark, Prince de, George, hus-
band of Queen Anne, 284
Danemark, Princesse de, see Anne
Dangeau, Marquis de, 80, 107, 113,
118, 140, 147, 155, 165 ; sent to
convert Gramont, 149, 150;
credited with St. Simon's sayings,
153 n. i ; writes about the exiled
court, 268
Darnley, Lady Catherine, Duchess
of Buckinghamshire, 160
Dauphin, the (Louis, son of Louis
XIV), 71, 132, 155 n. i
Dauphine, the (Marie Anne Chris-
tine), 71, 113, 166
De la Verite de la Religion Chre-
tienne, 115
Decameron, the, 218
Delorme, Marion, 19 n. i, 223 n. i
Dempsey, Col., 82
Denham, Sir John, 214
Denham, Lady, see Brook
Derry, see Londonderry
Deshoulidres, Madame, 181
Despreaux, see Boileau
Devereux, Robert, second Earl of
Essex, 171 n. 2, 229
Devereux, 141
Diable Boiteux, 223
Dicconson, William, 142, 143
Dictionary of National Biography,
22 n. 4, 70
Diderot, Denis, 179, 234
Dillon, James, first Earl of Ros-
common, 5
Dillon, Frances (Hamilton), Vis-
countess, 96
Dillon, Wentworth, fourth Earl of
Roscommon, 42 ; his regiment,
43. 47
Dillons, the, 104, 124
Disraeli, Benjamin, Lord Beacons-
field, satirical tales, 260, 261
Divertissemens de Seaux, 162 n. 3,
272 n. 3
Dobson,Mr.Austin,22i n. 2,270%. 3
Don des Fees, 234
Don Quixote, 177
Don Sylvio von Rosalva, 262
Done, Major, 82
Dongan, or Dungan, Thomas,
second Earl of Limerick, Lieut. -
Col. in the regiment d'Hamilton,
47 ; the regiment given to him,
64, 109 ; raises recruits, 65 ;
again in Ireland, but recalled to
France, 66 ; dismissed, 69
Dongan, or Dungan, Lord Walter,
100, 101
Dongan, or Dungan, William, first
Earl of Limerick, 47 n. 5, 86
Dorat, Claude Joseph, 225
Dorrington, General, 107, 155 w. 2
Dorset Lord, see Sackville, Charles
Douglas, Lord George, Earl of
Dumbarton, his regiment returns
to France, 30, 42 ; difficulties in
raising recruits, 65, 66 ; accom-
panies James II to Rochester, 81
Douglas, regiment de, 30, 31, 4 2 . 53.
58, 60, 66, 68
Dover, Lord, see Jermyn
Dover, Treaty of, 36, 37, 4 2
Dreux, Comtesse de, 134
Drummond, James, fourth Earl and
first Duke of Perth, governor to
the ' Prince of Wales,' 124 ; ex-
pedition of 1708, 155 ; death, 161
Drummond, Jean (Gordon), ' Coun-
tess ' Drummond, wife of James,
second Duke of Perth, 139, MO
Drummond, John, Earl of Melfort
22 n 4, 84 ; letters to Richard
Hamilton, 88, 90, 91 I written for
'344
ANTHONY HAMILTON
James II to Hamilton, 285-95 ;
condemns Rosen, 90 ; on the
Hamiltons, 95 ; intrigues, 96 ;
retires to France, 96 ; blames the
Hamiltons, 97 ; position at St.
Germain, 124 ; heads the ' non-
compounders,' 128 ; his daugh-
ters, 139
Drummond, Mary (Gordon), wife of
James, fourth Earl of Perth, 139
Dryden, age of, 190 ; translation of
Ovid, 215
Dschinnistan, 261
Dublin, Parliament of, 93
Du Channel, Comte de, in, 115,
1 20
Duclos, Charles Pineau, 148
Du Deffand, Marie de Vichi Cham-
rond, Marquise, 174; on the
Memoires, 222 ; on Cr6billon and
Hamilton, 255
Du Fosse, Pierre Thomas, 120
Dulon, Jacques, 165 n. 1
Du Lude, Duchesse, 115
Du Maine, Louis Auguste de
Bourbon, Due, 133, 135, 208 n. 2
Du Maine, Louise Bcnedicte de
Bourbon-Cond6, Duchesse, 130,
270; her society, 132-7. 181 ;
preciosite, 132; dislikes fairy
tales, 232
Dumas, Alexandre, pre, 192
Dumbarton, Earl of, see Douglas
Dungan, see Dongan
Dungan's dragoons, 288, 394
Du Resnel, Abbe, 271
Durand-B6dacier, Madame, writer,
192
Durfort, Jacques Henri de, Mar6-
chal de Lorges, 54, 58, 59
Eccardt, John Giles, painter, 300
Ecole des Femmes, 174
Efl&at, Antoine Ruz, Marquis d',
in
Elbeuf, Due d', 58
Elizabeth, Queen of England, 171
n. 2, 229, 230
Ellis, Sir William, 82
Emperor, the, sec Leopold
Enchanteur Faustus, written for
Margaret Hamilton, 1 39 ; negli-
gences, 171 . 2 ; said to be from
Memoirs of Sir Philip Sidney, 1 72;
discussed, 229-30 ; furnished
suggestions to Goethe, 230 ;
printed, 263 ; translated, 264
Encyclopedia Britannic a, article
Hamilton, 167 n. 5
Encyclopedic, 235
Enghien, Due de, see Cond6
Enghien, Mademoiselle de (Marie
Anne de Bourbon-Conde), 134
English regiments in France, see
Army, French
Enniskillen, defence of, 81, 92-5
Entries of Ambassadors, 1 5 s^.
Entzheim, battle of, 54
Esmond, 157 n. 4
Essav on Criticism, translation, 148,
266, 271
Essex, Lord, favourite of Queen
Elizabeth, see Devereux
Essex, Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland,
see Capel
Evelyn, John, 28, 33 n. 2, 41 n. 3,
65, 190, 218 n. i ; confirms Ham-
ilton in the main, 213; Diary,
219, 221
Exilez de la Cour d' Auguste, les,
191 n. 2
F., Countess, 139, 140
Fagon, Gui Crescent, surgeon, 298
Fairy Tales in France, 231-5
Fal mouth, Earl of, see Berkeley
Falmouth, Lady, see Bagot
Famechon, French officer in Ire-
land, 100
Faust, 230
Federn, Dr. Karl, 212
Felix de Tassy, Charles Francois,
surgeon-in-chief, 122, 123
Fenelon, Francois de Salignac de
La Mothe, 184, 203 ; Madame
de Gramont's director, 109, no.
116-19, 121 ', onGramont. 150-1;
preciosite, 180-1 ; Tettmaque,
203, 232, 234
Feuquidres, Abbe de, 150 n. 5
Fiesque, Madame de, 1891.5, 19
n. i
Fimarcon, M. de, 134
Fire, the Great, 29 ; ignored by
Hamilton, 33. 210
Fitzgerald, Sir John, 76 ; his
regiment, 288
Fitzjames. Henry, Duke of Albe-
marle, the Grand Prior, his regi-
ment, 293, 295
Fitzjames, James, first Duke of
Berwick, 32 n. 6, 107 n. 2, 138
w. 2, 178, 204, 267, 297 ; thinks
Deny will surrender, 86 ; near
Enniskillen, 93, 292, 293 ; to be
informed of Mountcashel's de-
feat, 294, 295 ; supposed to
govern James, 96 ; and to be
INDEX
345
governed by the Hamiltons, 96
at the Boyne, 100, 101 ; Com-
mander-in-Chief, 103 ; his coun-
sellors, 104 ; at Limerick, 105
departure for France, 106 enter-
tains Anthony Hamilton, 130,
and n. 2 ; his second wife, 139 ;
his correspondence with Hamil-
ton, 141-4, 268 ; on Richard
Hamilton, 159, 160 ; on Anthony
Hamilton, 161 ; appointed
governor of Guyenne, 161
Fitzjames, James, second Duke of
Berwick, 1 30 n. 2
Flechier, Esprit, 180, 181, 186
Fleur d'Epine, 163, 230*1.2, 255 ;
written for a lady, 140 ; negli-
gences, 171 n. 2 ; satirical inten-
tions, 241, 247-9, 2 5i. 2 54 and
n. 2 ; date, 242 ; summary,
243-4 ; character of Fleur d'
Epine, 249-50 ; allusions, 253-4 ;
influence on Wieland, 263 ;
printed, 263 ; translated, 264 ;
dramatized, 225 n. 5
Fontaines, Madame de, writer,
192
Fontenelle, Bernard le Bovier de,
133, 270 ; publication of the
Memoires de Grammont, 148-9 ;
preciosite, 180, 181 ; his anec-
dote about Hamilton's papers,
264 n. 2
Forbin, Claude de, 155, 156
Ford, Matthew, of Coolgreny, 3,
300
Forde, Mr., of Seaforde, 299, 300
Fox, Sir Stephen, 204
France, M. Anatole, 246 n. I
France Galante, 198
Francion, 241 n. 3
French officers and troops sent to
Ireland, see Army, French
Furetidre, Antoine, 237
Galland, Antoine, translation of
Arabian Nights, 239-42, passim,
247, 250 n. 3, 251 n. 2 ; trans-
lated into German, 261
Galmoy, see Butler, Pierce
Galmoy's horse, 288
Galmoys, the, 124
Gamman, Dr., 298
Gargantua and Pantagruel, 218
Gaultier, Abbe, French envoy, and
Richard Hamilton's dismissal,
158, IS9
Gazette de France, 66, 266
Gendarmes, Anglais, Bourguignons,
Ecossais, Flamands, see Army,
French
Genest, Charles Claude, Abbe, 133,
138, 139, 269
' Genre mixte/ 267, 268
Gentleman's Magazine, 257
George I, 271
George IV, 260
Gerard, Charles, Earl of Maccles-
field, 307
Gessner, Salomon, 262
Gil Bias, 1 80, 191, 218 n. 2
Gilbert, Mr. George David, 199
Ginkel, Godert de, Earl of Athlone,
107
Girardin, see Lery
Gloucester, Duke of, see Henry
Godeau, Antoine, 181
Godolphin, Sidney, 46 n. 3
Godolphin, Mrs. Margaret, see
Blagge
Goethe, his Faust, 230
Goldsmith, Oliver, 257, 259
Gomez, Madame de, writer, 192
Goodwin, Mr. Gordon, 212
Gordon, Sir Arthur Hamilton, after-
wards Lord Stanmore, 84 n. 4
Gordon, George Hamilton, fourth
Earl of Aberdeen, 84 n. 4
Gordon, Lady Jean, wife of Claud
Hamilton, 4
Grace, regiment, 288, 293
Grammont (where there is no refer-
ence to the Memoires), Grand-
mont, see Gramont
Grammont, Memoires de, see M6m-
oires de Grammont
Gramont, Antoine, Marechal de,
25, 40
Gramont, Armand, Comte de
Guiche, 45, 280 ; relations with
Madame, 25, 26, 197
Gramont, Claude Charlotte, after-
wards Lady Stafford, 25 n. i,
H2 a. 2, 113, n6ft. 5, 140, 271
n. 3 ; life, 166-8
Gramont, Elisabeth, Comtesse de,
see Hamilton, Elizabeth
Gramont, Marie Elisabeth, Abbess
of Poussay, 25 n. i, 112 n. 2, 113
andn. 3, 119, 130, 160, 162, 166-8
Gramont, Philibert, Chevalier, after-
wards Comte de, 16, 50 n. 2, 109,
147, 162 . 3, 185-7, 2 39, 253;
life before his exile to England,
17-19 I relations with Louis XIV,
18 n. 3, 19, 35, 39, 40, 122, 1 50-3 ;
exiled to England, 19 popu-
larity, 20 ; marriage, 21-4; visits
346
ANTHONY HAMILTON
France, 24 ; birth of son, 25 ;
return to France, 25 ; disliked
by Monsieur, 26 ; presents
Churchill to Louis XIV, 26 ;
partisan of the English, 27 ;
accompanies Madame to Dover,
36 ; accompanies Buckingham
to Paris and back as his ' gou-
verneur,' 37-40 ; on Charles II,
39 ; letter to Arlington desiring
Charles's assistance, 40, 41 ; re-
turns to England, 41 ; with the
French army, 45, 46 and n. I ',
visit to England, 62 ; contempt
for Louvois, 7091.7, 15291.1;
in England with secret instruc-
tions, 79, 80, 284, 285 ; retort to
Madame de Soissons, 1 10 ; hates
all ministers, in n. 4 ; wasteful,
112 n. 2; despised by St. -Simon,
113; had lost money in England,
11391.3; ill health, 1 1 8 ; ques-
tioned on the Auaustinus. 122 ;
finds Pontalie costly, 123 ; liked
by Mary of Modena. 129 ;
Anthony Hamilton writes for him
140, 147 ; his religion, 149 ;
death, 1 50 ; character, 1 50-3 ;
described by Lord Stafford, 167 ;
links Hamilton to St.-Evremond,
175-7 ; letter to Ormonde, 283 ;
letters, 283 n. i ; portrait, 300 ;
hero of the Memoires de Gram-
mont, [q.v.1, 202-27, 302-10
Grand Cyrus, le, 174, 232, 233, 239
Grand Dictionnaire des Precieuses,
18. 173
Cresset, Jean Baptiste Louis, 265,
269
Grignan, Francois Adh6mar de
Monteil, Comte de, 69
Grignan, Fran9oise Marguerite de
Sevign6, 148
Grimm, Friedrich Melchior, 264 n.
2. 266
Gueullette, Thomas Simon, 240
Guiche, see Gramont, Armand,
Guirlande de Julie, 173
Guizot, Francois Pierre Guillaume,
his copy of Avaux, 84 n. 4
Gulistan, 240
Gulliver's Travels, 260
Gwyn, Nell, 186, 201, 214
Gwynn, Mr. Stephen, 220 N.I,
268 n. 2
Habit du Chevalier de Grammont, /',
225
Hallam, Henry, 188
Hamilton, Anthony, ancestry, 1-2 ;
birth, i, 4, 7 ; parentage, 2-3 ;
brothers and sisters, 3 ; goes to
France, 5 ; in France, 7 ; educa-
tion, 8 ; remembers rejoicings at
King's return, 1 1 ; mentions his
brothers in the Mtmoires, 13, 17 ;
like Elizabeth in character, 13,
117; influenced by Saint-Evre-
mond, 19, see also 174-7; his
reason for Gramont's popularity,
20 ; goes to France, 32 ; act of
gallantry, 44 ; serves in the
regiment d'Hamilton, 44, 47, 49 ;
raises recruits in Ireland, 52 ;
wounded at Enzheim, 54 ; in
England, 55 ; unsuccessful in
raising recruits, 56-7 ; with
Turenne in 1675, 57 ; possibly in
Toul, 62 ; possibly left regiment
when given to Dongan, 65, 66 ;
established in Ireland, 71 ; less of
a courtier than Richard, 72 ;
Lieut.-Col. in Sir Thomas New-
comen's regiment, 74 ; royal
bounty, 74 ; Governor of
Limerick, 75 ; liked by Claren-
don, 76-7 ; questions Tyrconnel's
reforms, 76 ; in England, 77 ;
colonel and Privy Councillor, 78 ;
accompanies Tyrconnel, 79 ; his
regiment brought to England,
80 ; disbanded, 8 1 ; brigadier.
84 ; liked by Tyrconnel, 85 ;
sent against Enniskillcn, 92 ;
major-general, 93 ; flight at
Lisnaskca and Newton Butler,
94, 95 ; court-martialled, 96 ;
in Dublin, 97 ; receives French
troops at Cork, 99 ; at the
Boyne, 100-102 ; at Limerick,
102 ; sent to France, 103 ;
blamed by the Luttrells, 105 ;
outlawed, 106 ; lives at Saint-
Germain, 1 24 ; describes exiled
court, 126-7, 128 ; dislikes piety,
127 ; French friends, 1303 ;
describes fete de Chatenay, 134-5;
writes for Madame du Maine,
1 36 ; exchanges compliments
with Malezieu, 137 ; friends at
Saint -Germain, 138-40; relations
with the Royal Family, 140 ;
with the Bulkeleys and Berwicks,
141-6 ; becomes known as
writer, 147-8 ; not in the ex-
pedition of 1708, 155 ; age and
infirmities, 161 ; last letter to
Berwick, 161 ; writes rarely, 162;
INDEX
347
described by Saint -Simon, 163 ;
latter day piety, 163-4 ; death,
165 ; character, 1656 ; por-
traits, 33, 165, 299, 300 ; title,
32 n. 6 ; nieces, 166-8 ; copy of
a letter to Ruvigny, 281-2 ; un-
published poem, 310-311 ; MS.
copies of works and letters, 311
12 ; not a professional writer,
171 ; characteristics, 172 ;
English origin, 172-3 ; literary
position, 173-4; influenced by
Saint - Evremond, 19, 174-7 ;
literary background, 178 ; in-
fluenced by Voiture, 178-9 ;
connexion with Sceaux and the
Temple, 181-2 ; attitude to
preciosite, 182 ; scepticism, 183 ;
irony, 184; vocabulary and
style, 184-9 ; Epttre a Monsieur
le Comte de Grammont, 148, 202,
267 ; Memoir es de Grammont
[q.v.], 190-227 ; Zeneyde [q.v.],
228-9 ' L'Enchanteur Faustus
[q.v.], 229-30 ; Fairy tales and
Oriental tales, spirit of, 183 ;
style, 1 88 ; translations, 257,
264 ; influence, 254-61 ; on
Wieland, 261-3 ' printed, 263 ;
Le Belier [q.v.], 235-9 ; Fleur
d'Epine [q.v.], 241-4, 247-54 ;
Les Quatre Facardins [q.v.],
244-54 ; La Pyr amide et le
Cheval d'Or (q.v!] 254 ; minor
works, 266-72 ; letters, 167, 268 ;
various Relations, 130*1.4, 176,
259, 266, 267 ; poems, 269, 270 ;
translation of Essay on Criticism,
271 ; Reflexions, 164 ; Del' Usage
de la Vie dans la Vieillesse,
163-4
Hamilton, Sir Claud, brother of
James, first Earl of Abercorn,
If 2
Hamilton, Claud, fourth Earl of
Abercorn, 93
Hamilton, Claud, Baron Paisley, 2
Hamilton, Claud, second Lord
Strabane, son of James, first
Earl, 4, 93 n. 2
Hamilton, Elizabeth, Comtesse de
Gramont, Anthony Hamilton's
sister, 12 n. 4, 64, 72, 144, 147,
155, 162 n. 3, 163, 173, 180, 184,
239 ; birth, 3 ; sent to Port
Royal, 8 ; like Anthony in
character, 13, 117; courted by
Gramont and others, 20, 21 ;
marriage, 21-4 ; children, 25 and
n. i ; goes to France, 25 ; ad-
mitted to Madame's intimacy,
25, 40 ; acts for de Guiche, 25-6 ;
dame du palais, 26 ; English
visitors, 26 ; exerts herself for
her brothers, 35, 50, 70, 109 ;
accompanies Madame to Dover,
36 ; reconciles Gramont and
Buckingham, 40 ; grief at James
Hamilton's death, 50 ; quarrel
with Louvois, 70 ; visit from
Richard, 108 ; had obtained his
release, 109 ; accuses James II
of indifference, 1 10 ; her pride,
no ; friendships, in ; liked by
Louis XIV, 112-15 ; mentioned
in connexion with the Affaire des
Poisons, 112; character by St.
Simon, 113, 114; disliked by
Madame de Maintenon, 114;
conversion, 115, 116 ; is aided by
Fenelon, 117, 118 ; relations with
Port Royal, 118-22 ; temporary
disgrace, 121; restored to favour,
122 ; gift from Louis XIV, 122-3 ;
liked by Mary of Modena,
1 29 ; English court visits Pontalie,
140 ; tries to convert her hus-
band, 149 ; his death, 150 ; her
relations with him, 153 ; ill-
health and death, 1 54, 296 ;
portraits, 300 ; figures in the
Memoir es, 21, 183, 185, 209,
215-18,224, 305-6, 310
Hamilton, Elizabeth, wife of James
Hamilton, see Colepeper
Hamilton, Elizabeth, Viscountess
Ross, daughter of George Hamil-
ton, 96, 113
Hamilton, Frances, Viscountess
Dillon, daughter of George Hamil-
ton, 96
Hamilton, Sir George, the elder,
brother of James, first Earl of
Abercorn, 1-4, passim
Hamilton, Sir George, father of
Anthony Hamilton, his father's
death, 2 ; marriage and children,
3 ; title, 3 andn. 5 ; character,
4 ; life during Irish Rebellion
4 sq. ', silver mines, 4, 7, 12
governor of Nenagh Castle, 4
Receiver-General of Revenues of
Ireland, 5 ; takes family to
France, 5 ; letter to Lauderdale
quoted, 5 n. 2 ; financial losses,
7, 8 ; travels in King's interests,
8-10 ; brings family to England,
12 ; royal favours, 12 ; continu-
ANTHONY HAMILTON
ous financial difficulties, 12 ;
death, 71
Hamilton, Sir George, of Bynning,
i
Hamilton, George, Anthony Hamil-
ton's brother, 33, 36, 49, 50, 65,
66, 98, 109, 130, 217, 218, 237
n. i ; birthi, 3 ; page to Charles II
in France, 8, 10 ; life at Restora-
tion Court, 13 ; character, 28 ;
marriage, 28 ; turned out of
army, 29 ; preparations to enter
French army, 30-2 ; sails to
Ostend, 32 ; title, 32 and n. 6 ;
arrival in France and naturaliza-
tion, 34-; royal favours, 3 5 and n./3 ;
raises the regiment d' Hamilton,
42-5 ; proceeds to Utrecht, 46 ;
stationed at Zutphen, 47 ; regi-
ment commended, 48 ; with
Turenne, 48 ; raises recruits, 52 ;
joins Turenne, 53 ; at Sinzheim,
53 ; wounded at Entzheim, 54 ;
praised by Turenne, 54 ; obtains
permission from Charles II to
raise recruits, 55 ; returns to
France, 56 ; brigadier, 58 ; wit-
nesses Turenne's death, 58 ;
commands rearguard, 59 ; at
Altenheim, 59 ; to raise recruits,
59 ; in England and Ireland, 62 ;
returns to France, 62 ; Marechal
du Camp, 63 ; death, 63 ; had
requested that his wife be dame
du palais, 64 ; portrait, 299-300 ;
figures in the Mtmoives, 1 3, 209 ;
copy of Capitulation signed by
him, 277-8 ; letter to Williamson,
279-81
Hamilton, George, son of James
Hamilton, 50 . 3
Hamilton, George, Earl of Orkney,
157
Hamilton, George, fourth Lord
Strabane, 93 n. 2
Hamilton, Gustavus, Viscount
Boyne, serves in the regiment
d'Hamilton, 44, 47, 64, 93 ;
governor of Enniskillen, 92 ; in
Mountjoy's regiment, 93
Hamilton, James, first Earl of
Abercorn, Anthony Hamilton's
grandfather, settles in Ireland,
i, 2
Hamilton, James, second Earl of
Abercorn, 2
Hamilton, James, sixth Earl of
Abercorn, son of James Hamilton,
3 n. 5, 50 n. 3, 93
Hamilton, James, Anthony Hamil-
ton's brother, 28, 33, 75 n. i, 93,
109 ; birth, 3 ; with the exiled
court, 8, 10 ; life at Restoration
Court, 13 ; character, 14 ; royal
favours, 14 ; royal messenger, 14
and n. 3, 36 ; enemies, 14 ; in-
fluence over Madame, 15 ; inter-
feres in the question of the Eng-
lish ambassador's entry, 15, 16 ;
marriage, 16 ; Lord Commis-
sioner of Prizes, 49 ; death, 49 ;
great grandfather of Beckford,
257 ; portrait, 300 ; figures in
the M6moires, 13, 209, 219
Hamilton, John, Anthony Hamil-
ton's brother, 22 n. 4, 44, no,
264 n. 2, 299 ; birth, 3, 7 ;
Mountjoy's regiment, 74, 85, 93 ;
to France and back, 84 ; briga-
dier, 97 ; at the Boyne, 100-102 ;
at Limerick, 103 ; one of Ber-
wick's ' directors,' 104 ; letters,
105 ; accused of treason, 107 ;
killed, 107 ; family, 107 n. 5,
1 68
Hamilton, Col, John, 5 n. 2
Hamilton, Lucia, Anthony Hamil-
ton's sister, 3
Hamilton, Margaret, Anthony
Hamilton's sister, 3, 7, 300
Hamilton, Margaret, daughter of
John Hamilton, 107 n. 5, 139,
168, 264 n. 2, 271
Hamilton, Lady Mary, Anthony
Hamilton's mother, marriage, 3 ;
narrowly escapes death, 4 ; lonely
life, 6 ; in France, 6-10 : dis-
tressed by James Hamilton's
change of religion, 16, 17 ; death,
7i
Hamilton, Mary, Viscountess Kings-
land, daughter of George Hamil-
ton, 96, 300
Hamilton, Richard, Anthony
Hamilton's brother, 22 n. 4, 28,
32 n. 6, 49. 138 n. 2, 146, 165;
birth, 3 ; serves in the rdgiment
d' Hamilton, 44 ; raises recruits,
56 ; with Turenne, 57 ; possibly
in Toul, 62 ; remains with regi-
ment when given to Dongan, 65 ;
little known about his service, 66 ;
regiment transferred to him, 69 ;
regiment de Navailles given him,
70 ; letter in his favour from
Charles II, 71, 109; dances in
ballet, 71 ; quarrels with Lou vois,
72 ; dismissed, 72 ; favoured by
INDEX
349
Princesse de Conti, 73 ; colonel of
dragoons, 74 ; royal bounty, 74 ;
Irish Privy Councillor, 75 ; briga-
dier, 75 ; disliked by Clarendon,
76 ; discharges Protestants, 77 ;
misrepresents Clarendon, 78 ;
regiment of horse, 79 ; sent to
Ipswich, 80 ; major-general, 80 ;
accompanies James II to Roches-
ter, 8 1 ; to negotiate peace in
Ireland, 81-3 ; lieut. -general, 84 ;
repulsed at Coleraine, 84 ; blamed,
85 ; letters from Tyrconnel, 85,
86 ; besieges Londonderry, 86-
92, 285-95; blamed, 95, 96;
poor health, 97 ; Louvois does
not want him in French service,
98 ; at the Boyne, 100-102 ;
blamed by the Luttrells, 105 ;
imprisoned, 107 ; released, 108 ;
through Madame de Gramont's
exertions, 109, no ; at St. Ger-
main, 124 ; to command Jacobite
rising, 129 ; friends, 130 ; expedi-
tion of 1708, 155 ; accompanies
the Chevalier de St. George in
his campaigns, 156-7, 296-8 ;
dismissed, 158-60; back at St.
Germain, 161 ; lives with niece,
162 ; death, 162 ; described by
St. Simon, 163 ; letters to him
from James II, 285-95 portrait,
299
Hamilton, Thomas, Anthony
Hamilton's brother, 49, 299 ;
birth, 3 ; enters navy, 33 ; royal
bounty, 74 ; services rendered,
75 andn. i, 93
Hamilton, William, son of James
Hamilton, 50 n. 3
Hamilton, regiment d', first regi-
ment, see under Army, French,
Irish regiments ; second regi-
ment, see under Army, French,
French regiments
Hamilton, regiments, various, in
Ireland, see under Army, Irish
Hamilton Place, 14 n. 4
Hamilton Street, 14 n. 4
Hamiltons, the, and Roman Catholi-
cism, 2, 3, 5, 16, 17, 28, 29, 32,
75-77, 83 ; considered as much
French as English, 6 ; not liked
by Louvois, 70, 98 ; some for
James II, some for William, 93 ;
considered New Interest men,
104
Hampton Court, portrait of Eliza-
beth Hamilton, 21, 113, 300
Hanover, Duchess of, and the
Memories, 203, 207 n. i, 301
Harcourt, Comte de, 134
Harcourt, Comtesse de, 134
Harcourt, Princesse de, 115
Harcourt, Henri, Due et Marechal
de, 154
Harlay, Frai^ois de, Archbishop of
Paris, 119, 121, 126 n. i
Harley, Robert, first Earl of Oxford,
159
Hattige, ou les Amours du Roy de
Tameran, 200, 201
Hazlitt, William, 222
Henault, Charles Jean Fra^ois,
President, 133, 181
Henri IV, 17
Henrietta, sister of Charles II,
Duchess of Orleans, ' Madame/
27, 109, in, 197 ; James Hamil-
ton sent to her, 14 ; letters writ-
ten to her by Charles, 14 n. 3, 21,
22 n. i, 25, 300 n. 2 ; audience
of Lord Holies takes place,
thanks to her, '16 ; likes Madame
de Gramont, 25, 40 ; relations
with Guiche, 25-6; on Gramont,
27 ; negotiates treaty of Dover,
36 ; death, 36-7
Henry, Duke of Gloucester, 9
Hepburn, Sir John, his regiment, 30
Heptameron, the, 218
Hieroglyphic Tales, 259
Histoire amour euse des Gaules, 194,
197-8, 203
Histoire de la Princesse Zulkais, 259
Histoire de la Sultane de Perse, 240
Histoire de Madame Henriette d'
Angleterre, 194
Histoire du Comte de Warwick 193
n. 6, 199 n. 3
Histoire prodigieuse et lamentable
de Jean Fauste, 229
Histoire secrette de Catherine de
Bourbon, 191
Hobart, Miss, maid of honour, 225
Hocquincourt, French officer in
Ireland, 101
Holies, Denzil, first Baron Holies,
ambassador, 15, 16
Hope, Sir Roger, his Company of
Foot, 3
Howard, Henry, sixth Duke of
Norfolk, 21
Howard, Thomas, brother to the
Earl of Carlisle, 213
Hughes, Margaret, mistress of
Prince Rupert, 204
Hugo, Victor, 225
350
ANTHONY HAMILTON
Humieres, Marechal de, 283
Hurly, Lieutenant, 52 n. 3
Hyde, Anne, Duchess of York, 28 ;
figures in the Memoires, 209, 213,
214, 217, 256, 304, 307
Hyde, Edward, first Earl of Claren-
don, 10, 1 6 ; and his daughter's
accusers, 217 ; figures in the
Mtmoires, 2 1 7, 304 ; his Life,
213, 221
Hyde, Henry, second Earl of
Clarendon, 74 ; on Anthony
Hamilton, 76-7 ; misrepresented
by Richard Hamilton, 78 ; re-
called, 79
Hyde, Henry, Viscount Cornbury,
213 n. i
Hyde, Laurence, first Earl of
Rochester, 77
Idris, 262
Infernal Marriage, 260
Influence franfaise en Anqleterre au
Dix-septieme Siecle, 211
Innes, Father Lewis, 159, 160
Intrigues amoureuses de la Cour de
France, 198
Irish Army, see Army, Irish
Irish regiments serving in the
French Army, see Army, French
Ixion in Heaven, 260
Jacques, le grand (pseud.), 265
James I, and Ulster, i, 2
James II, 22 n. 4, 67, 82, 1 10, 131,
163 ; dances in ballet, 19 ;
admires Elizabeth Hamilton, 2 1 ;
Spanish ambassador complains
to him, 31 ; conversion, 48 ;
second marriage, 50 ; suggests
port of departure for Irish re-
cruits, 56 ; regrets George Hamil-
ton's death, 63 ; asks regiment
d'Hamilton to be given to Don-
gan, 64 ; accession, 72 ; ap-
points Richard Hamilton colonel
of dragoons, 74 ; Gramont to
discover whether he realizes
peril, 79, 2845 '> h* s indifference,
80 ; but brings forces from Ire-
land, 80 ; escapes to France, 8 1 ;
Mount joy and Rice sent to him,
83 ; brings French officers to
Ireland, 84 ; unsuccessful ex-
pedition to Londonderry, 84, 86 ;
parsimonious, 87 ; again sends
Rosen to Derry, 88 ; condemns
his barbarity, 90 ; Avaux sees
him about Richard Hamilton,
91 ; reluctant to raise siege of
Derry, 91 ; does not wish har-
bour spoiled, 92 ; friction among
his counsellors, 96 ; sends Irish
regiments to France, 97 ; Avaux
to see him about the Hamiltons,
98 ; sends officers to Cork to
receive French, 99 ; at the
Boyne, 100-102 ; returns to
France, 102 ; French contempt,
102 n. 4 ; Anthony Hamilton
sent to him, 103 ; receives
Luttrells and Purcell, 105 ; letters
105 ; plans unsuccessful ex-
pedition to England, 108 ; birth
of daughter, 108 ; piety, 124 ;
relations with the French, 125 j
governed by priests, 127 ;
apathy, 128 ; last attempt to
re-establish him, 129; is dead,
1 38 ; letters to Richard Hamil-
ton, 285-95 ; figures in the
Memoires de Grammont, 163, 187,
204, 209, 213, 215-19, passim
James Francis Edward Stuart,
Prince of Wales, Chevalier de St.
George, the old Pretender, 128,
138, 204 ; birth, 79, 284 ; taken
to France, 80 ; household, 1 26 ;
relations with Anthony Hamilton
140; expedition of 1708, 155-6;
service in the French army, in
1708, 156, 296; in 1709, 156;
in 1710, 157, 296-8 ; life in 1 71 1,
158; in 1712, 158; dismisses
Richard Hamilton, 1 59-60 \ at
Bar, 161
Jansenism, see Port Royal
Jansenius, Cornelius, 120, 122
Jarze, Marquis de, 72
Jennings, Frances, wife of George
Hamilton, afterwards wife of the
Duke of Tyrconnel, 36, 74, 113
n. 41 marriage, 28 ; widowhood,
63-5 ; not to be dame du palais,
64 ; second marriage, 65 ; inter-
feres in Ireland, 96 ; friend of
the Hamiltons, 96, 97 ; position
at St. Germain, 1 24 ; figures in
the Mtmoires, 185, 204, 213, 214,
216-19
Jermyn, Henry, first Earl of St.
Albans, 8, 24, 38 n. 3
Jermyn, Henry, first Baron Dover,
'little' Jermyn, 13, 21, 210,
225 ; receives French troops at
Cork, 99 ; gets passport to
Flanders, 99 n. i ; figures in the
Mtmoires, 209, 213, 217, 219, 310
INDEX
35*
Jesuits, in Ireland, 3 ; at St. Ger-
main, 126, 127
Jones, Sir Henry, 42
Journal Amoureux, 191 n. 2
Journal Litteraire, and Oriental
Tales, 240
Jusserand, M. J. J., 22 n. 2, 24 w. 3
Karney, Sir Charles, 293
Keith, Mary, wife of William, Earl
Monachal, 139
Kenney, C., 264
Keppel, Arnold Joost van, Earl of
Albemarle, 115 n. 5
Keroualle, Louise de, Duchess of
Portsmouth, 55
Killegrew, or Killigrew, Thomas, in
the Memoircs, 13, 187, 209, 213,
215-17
King, William, Archbishop of
Dublin, 83
King, Sir William, Governor of
Limerick, 75
Kingsland, see Barnewall
Kirk, Mary, 213 . i
Kirke, Percy, 91, 93, 288
Kissenberth, Wilhelm, 165 n. i,
241 n. 3
Klopstock, Friedrich, Gottlieb, 261
Koerting, Heinrich, 233
Kyrie Eleyson de Montauban, 177
La Bruyere, Jean de, 150, 180, 189
La Calprenede, Gauthier de Costes
de, 228
La Chapelle, Jean de, 132, 174, 270
Lacy, Captain John, 52 n. 3, 69 n. 4
La Fare, Marquis de, 131-3, 161,
1 80, 182, 270
La Fayette, Madame de, on the
piety of the French Court, 115;
her Princesse de Cleves, 192 ;
Memoires de Madame Henriette,
194 ; on the exiled court, 268-9
La Ferte, Duchesse de, 1 34, 208
La Feuillade, Marechal de, in, 192
La Fontaine, Jeande, 177, 180, 189,
255 ; on Londonderry, 90 n. 2 ;
at the Temple, 131 ; le genre
mixte, 267 ; Virelai sur les
Hollandais, 270 ; on Voiture, 272
La Force, Charlotte Rose de Cau-
mont de, 127 n. 3, 132; fairy
tales, 231
La Garde, Mademoiselle de, after-
wards Lady Sylvius, 204 n. 1,218
La Guette, , George Hamilton's
successor in the Gendarmes An-
glais, 63
La Harpe, Jean Francois de, 196
n. 2, 234 n. i, 254 n.2
La Hoguette, Marquis de, 99, 100
La Motte, Antoine Houdart de, 133,
270
Lambert, Madame de, 181
Lanier, Sir John, 68, 80
Lanson, M. Gustave, quoted, 188
n. i and 3
La Roche sur Yon, Prince de, 7 1
La Rocheguilhelm, Mademoiselle
de, writer, 192
La Rue, Charles de, Pere, 202
La Sabliere, Madame de, 131
La Salle, Chevalier de, 142, 143
Lassay, Armand Leon, Marquis de,
134, 181
La Tour, Pere de, 118 n. i
La Tour Montfort, French officer
in Ireland, 106 n. 2
Lauderdale, see Maitland
Launay, de, see, Staal
Lauzun, Antonin Nompar de Cau-
mont, Due de, marriage, 41 ;
speaks against Avaux, 96 ;
arrives in Ireland with French
regiment, 97 ; complains of Lord
Dover, 99 ; in Dublin, 99 ; at
the Boyne, 100, 102 ; opinion of
Limerick, 103 ; glad to leave
Ireland, 103
Lauzun, Armand Louis de Gontaut,
Due de Biron and de Lauzun,
226
La Valliere, Marquise de, 64 n. 5
La Vallidre, Louise Fran9oise, Made-
moiselle de, 64 n. 5, 112
La Vieuville, Madame de, 134
Lavallin, Captain, Jacobite officer,
94. 96
Lees, the, 124
Lely, Sir Peter, 21, 113, 300
Le Maistre de Sacy, Isaac Louis,
1 20
Lenclos, Ninon de, 115^.5, 132,
150, 181
Lenglet Dufresnoy, Abbe, 193 n. i,
198 n. i
Leopold I, Emperor, 48
Le Poer, Mr., friend of Anthony
Hamilton, 264 n. 2
Leprince de Beaumont, Madame
de, writer, 235
Lery-Girardin, French officer in
Ireland, 86, 100
Le Sage, accomplice of la Voisin,
112
Le Sage, Alain Rene, 211, 223, 233 ;
attacks the precieux, 1 80 ; col-
352
ANTHONY HAMILTON
laborator of Petis de la Croix,
242 n. 2
Lesconvel, Pierre de, 195, 231
Lescure, M. de, 24 n. i, 222, 234 n. I
L'Estrange, Sir Roger, 201 .
Lettres galantes, 268
Lettres persanes, 173, 184
Lettres portugaises, 194
Levis, Due de, 241 n. 3, 265, 271
Lewis, Matthew, ' Monk ' Lewis,
259, 264, 265
L'Heritier, Mademoiselle de, writer,
192 ; fairy tales, 231
L'Hopital, Marechale de, 309
Life Guards, the King's, 28, 29, 31
Light to the Blind, 87-8
Ligne, Prince de, 171, 226
Limerick, Earl of, see Dongan
Limerick, sieges of, 103-7
Lindsey, , at St. Germain, 142
Lingendes, Jean de, 172 n. 3, 248
Lintot, Madame de, writer, 234
Lionne, Hugues de, Foreign Secre-
tary to Louis XIV, 38 ; letters
to him, 15, 37, 153
Lisnaskea, fight near, 94
L'Isola, Baron de, Austrian am-
bassador, 30, 31
Litchfield, Lord, 81
London, Treaty of, 51, 55, 60
Londonderry, siege of, 81, 85-92,
285-95
Longueville, Anne Genevieve de
Bourbon-Conde, Duchesse de, 119
Longueville, Henri II, Prince de,
206
Lord Mayor's regiment, 293
Lord Prior's regiment, 295
Lorges, Marechal de, see Durfort
L'Orme, Marion de, see. Delorme
Lorraine, Charles IV, Duke of, 53,
63
Louis IX, 33
Louis XIII, 195, 211, 224
Louis XIV, 20, 22, 33, 41, 45, 50, 65,
71. 9L 96, 105, 132, 174, 180, 196,
210, 264 M. 2, 282 ; attitude with
regard to precedence of ambassa-
dors, 1 5 : receives Churchill, 26 ;
at war with Spain, 30, 32 ; gives
money and ships for English regi-
ments to enter French army, 30;
names new regiment Gendarmes
Anglais, 31 ; gift to George
Hamilton, 32 ; captain of the
Gendarmes Ecossais and Anglais,
34 ; significance, n. 4 ; peace
made with spain, 35 ; Treaty of
Dover, 36 ; receives Bucking-
ham, 39 ; prepares for war with
the United Provinces, 42 ; sets
Charles free from obligations, 43 ;
has the regiment d'Hamilton
raised, 43 ; invasion of the
United Provinces, 45-6 ; life
with the army, 46 n. 3 ; answer
to Corneille, 48 ; commends the
regiment d'Hamilton, 48 ; at
Maestricht, 48, 152 n. i ; sends
ships for recruits to Waterford,
52 ; takes the Franche Comte,
53 ; Duchess of Portsmouth
sends him her portrait, 55 ; in
Flanders, 57 ; defensive agree-
ment with Charles, 62 ; in
Flanders, 62 ; regrets George
Hamilton's death, 63 ; requested
to give the regiment to Dongan,
64 ; does not want Hamilton's
widow as dame du palais, 64 n. 5 ;
conquests in Flanders, 66 ; stops
recruiting of English regiments,
67 ; refuses to let them go, 67 ;
cashiers them, except Dongan,
68 ; gives the regiment Dongan
to Richard Hamilton, 69 ; dis-
bands it, 69 ; dismisses Hamil-
ton, 72-3 ; sends Gramont to
England, 79, 284-5 ' aware of
peril, 80 ; wishes no Hamiltons
in Irish Brigade, 98 ; sends Mme.
de Gramont Irish news, 109;
does not like ' les amoureux,' 1 1 1 ;
friendship with Mme, de Gra-
mont, 112, 113; dislikes Port
Royal, 119; angry with Mme.
de Gramont, 121 ; reconciled,
122 ; gives her a property, 122 ;
kindness to Jacobite exiles, 125 ;
sends Dangeau to convert
Gramont, 149 ; harshness to
courtiers, 152 n. i ; will not hear
of Mme. de Gramont's retiring,
1 54 ; disapproves of Marie Eliza-
beth de Gramont, 167 ; dis-
approves of the expedition of
1708, 155 ; admits the Chevalier
de St. George to the army, 1 56 ;
message to Mary of Modena, 298 ;
death, 161 ; relations with
Gramont, 18 n. 3, 19, 35, 39, 40,
122, 150-3 ; age of, in literature,
180-2, passim ; historiographers,
195
Louville, Charles Auguste, Marquis
de, 1 20
Louvois, Fransois Michel Letellier,
Marquis de, 65, 69, 253 ; and
INDEX
353
English entering French service,
31, 32 ; preparation for war with
United Provinces, 42 ; preju-
dices the King against the cour-
tiers, 152 n. i ; criticizes the
regiment d'Hamilton, 47 ; ar-
rangements for shipping Irish
recruits, 56 ; directs George
Hamilton to raise recruits, 59 ;
criticizes the regiment Hamilton-
Dongan, 66 ; recruits to be
raised for English forces, 66 ;
orders return of officers to
France, 66 ; explains cashiering
of English regiments, 68 ; dis-
approves of Dongan, 68 ; dislikes
the Hamiltons, 70 ; reproached
by Mme. de Gramont, 70, 109 ;
quarrels with Richard Hamilton,
72 ; letters from Avaux, 85, 87 ;
from Rosen, 89 ; suggests raising
of Londonderry siege, 91 ; letter
from Rosen, 92 w. i ; hears com-
plaints against Hamiltons, 96 ;
will have no Hamiltons in the
Brigade, 98 ; letter from Sars-
field, 105-6 ; from Tyrconnel,
107 ; is dead, 108
Lowestoft, victory off, 27
Lulli, Jean Baptiste de, i$on. 5
Lussan, Madame de, 134
Lussan, Mademoiselle de, writer,
234
Luttrell, Henry, 104-5
Luttrell, Simon, 104-5
Luttrell's Horse, 288, 295
Luxembourg, Marechal de, 46
Luynes, Madame de, 185
Lyttleton, Sir Charles, 204, 2 1 7
Lyttleton, Lady, see Temple, Anne
Lytton, Edward George Bulwer,
141, 184
Mabillon, Dom Jean, 123, 237 and
n. i
Macan, Elizabeth, wife of John
Hamilton, 107 n. 5
Macarice Excidium, 97 and n. 4, 104,
106 n. i
Macaulay, Thomas Babington,
Baron, 70, 221 ; description of
St. Germain, 126
MacCarthy, Callaghan, 8 n. 5
MacCarthy, Charles, Viscount Mus-
kerry, 214 n. 2
MacCarthy, Donogh, Lord Mus-
kerry, afterwards Earl of Clan-
carty, 9, 10
2 A
MacCarthy, Eleanor, Lady Mus-
kerry, afterwards Clancarty, 8
MacCarthy, Helen, daughter of
Lady Muskerry, 8
MacCarthy, or Macarthy, Justin,
Viscount Mountcashell, major-
gen., 75 ; misrepresents Claren-
don, 78-9 ; lieut.-gen., 93 ;
defeated, 94-5, 294-5 escapes,
98
MacCarthy, Margaret, Lady Mus-
kerry, wife of Charles Mac-
Carthy, la Princesse de Babylon,
13, 187, 215 n. 2
Macdonnel, Col. Alexander, 106
MacDonnell, Randal, second Earl
of Antrim, 15
M'Guinesses, the, 104
Macmahan, , officer in the regi-
ment d'Hamilton, 52 n. 2
Macmahon, regiment, 295
M'Mahons, the, 104
Macnamara, Captain David, 52 n. 3
Madame, first wife of Philip, Duke
of Orleans (died 1670), see
Henrietta
Madame, second wife, see Orleans
Mademoiselle, la grande, see Mont-
pensier
Mademoiselle Hamilton, 225
Maestricht, siege of, 48, 152 n. i
Maguires, the, 104
Maid Marian, 260
Mailly, Jean Baptiste, 192
Maintenon, Franoise d'Aubigne,
Marquise de, in, 208 n. 2 ;
jealous of Mme. de Gramont, 114
and n. 3 ; on the piety of the
French court, 115; on Mme. de
Caylus' conversion, 118 n. i ',
helps English nuns, n8n. 4;
hopes Mme. de Gramont's rela-
tions with Port Royal will end
the King's friendship, 120-2 ;
displeasure at renewed friend-
ship, 123 ; disapproves of Mme.
du Maine, 133 ; knows Hamil-
ton's style, 147 ; on Mme. de
Gramont after her husband's
death, 154 ; on fairy tales, 232 ;
writes about the exiled court, 268 ;
letter to Mary of Modena, 298
Maitland, John, first Duke of
Lauderdale, 64 n. 5 i letter sent
to him, 5 n. 2 ; influence over
Charles, 14
Malezieu, Nicolas de, 133, I35~9
passim, 272
Malherbe, Fra^ois de, 17$, 177
354
ANTHONY HAMILTON
Mallarme, St6phane, 258
Malplaquet, battle of, 156
Marais, Matthieu, 186
Marechal, Georges, surgeon, 298
Maria Theresa, Empress, n6n. 5
Manage Ford, 22 n. 4
Marie Louise, daughter of James II,
138, 139, 15611. 6, 162 n. 3 ;
birth, 108 ; subject of Hamilton's
verse and letters, 139-41 ; death,
158
Marie Th6rese, wife of Louis XIV,
26, 30, no, 115
Marion Delorme, 225
Marischal, see Keith
Marlborough, see Churchill
Marlowe, Christopher, 229, 230
Marmier, Comte de, 168
Marmier, Mademoiselle de, 271
Marmontel, Jean Francis, 260
Marot, Clement, parodies of, 136,
172, 177, 181
Mary, Princess Royal of England,
Princess of Orange, 307
Mary of Modena, wife of James II,
96, 1 10, 284 ; escapes to France,
80 ; relations with the French,
125; likes the Gramonts, 1 29 ;
letters to Richard Hamilton, 1 56-
8, 296-8 ; does not want Middle-
ton dismissed, 1 59 ; poverty at
St. Germain, 161 ; death, 164-5
her letters, 269
Massillon, Jean Baptiste, 180, 202
Mat air, musician, 135
Matta, 1 8, 183, 186, 209, 222, 302,
303
Maumont, French officer in Ireland,
84, 86, 87, 285
Maxwell, Thomas, brigadier, 99
May, Baptist, 309
Mayercron, M., 135
Mazarin, Cardinal, 176, 177, 208 ;
and Gramont, 18 and n. 2, n. 3,
212 ; nieces, 132, 181
Mazarin, Due, 62
Mazarin, Hortense, Duchesse, 62,
79, 175, 194
Melfort, Lord, see Drummond
Memoires de Grammont, 13, 17, 18,
20, 21, 22 n. 4, 25 n. 3, 71, 76 n. i,
99n. i, 141, 153 andn.i, 164,
176, 230, 257, 268, 300; two
ways of considering them, 190 ;
other writers of memoir-novels,
192 ; other pseudo-memoirs, 192-
4 ;f> historians and nouvellistes,
195 ; relation of the Memoires
de Grammont to earlier works,
196-7; to the Histoire Amour-
reuse des Gaules, 198 ; to the
Mimoires de la Cour d'Angleterre,
199-202 ; influence of Saint-Evre-
mond, 177; composition, 172,
202 ; publication, 148, 171, 203 ;
unwelcome to Hamilton, 203-4 ;
said to be dictated by Gramont,
172, 203 n. i, 204-5, 214 ; scope
205-6 ; possible object, 23 ;
original draft, 206-7 ' ending,
207 ; treatment of the hero, 153,
207-9 second part of the
Mimoires, 209-10 ; realism, 211;
trustworthiness, 211-14; chron-
ology, 214-16 ; treatment of the
English court, 217-18; of Arling-
ton, see also, 10, 38 n. 3, 21 1, 224 ;
spirit, 182, 183; morality, 218-
20 ; value, 221 ; literary merits,
222-4; portraits, 21 andn.i,
224 ; style, 184-8 ; ridicule
preciosite, 182-3 ; influence, 225-
6; admired by Beckford, 258 ;
by Wieland, 263 ; translations,
227 ; MS. copies, 301-10, 311
Memoires de J. B. de La Fontaine,
197 ; de la Cour d'Angleterre, 190,
198-202 ; de la Cour d'Espagne,
196, 199 ; de la Vie de Henrietta
Sylvie de MoMre, 194 ; de la Vie
du Comte D. t 193 . 5, 194
de Madame la Comtesse * * *, 194;
de Madame Marie Mancini, les
ver liable s, 194 ; de Mademoisolle
de Montpensier, 191 n. 4, 222 ;
de M. d'Artagnan, 190, 195 ; de
M. de Bouy, 192, 193 n. 6;
dc M. L. D. M., 194 ; des avan-
tures singulieres de la Cour de
France, 193 n. 3 ; du Marechal
de Montbrun, 194 n. 2 ; secrets
de M. L. D. D. O., 197
Memoirs of the Reign of George III,
225
Memoirs, authentic, printed in the
beginning of the eighteenth cen-
tury, 191 n. 4
Menage, Gilles, 181
Merck, Johann Heinrich, 261
Mercceur, Madame de, 19 n. i
Mercure Galant, 147, 154*. 4, 202,
266
Mesmes, Jean Antoine de, le
President, 133, 134
Mesnard, M. Paul, 22 n. 4
Mi-zerai, Fra^ois Eudes de, 195
Michelet, Jules, quoted, 210
Mickiewicz, Adam, 233
INDEX
355
Middleton, Charles, second Earl of
Middleton, 124, 128, 138 ; his
part in the expedition of 1708,
155-6 ; accompanies the Cheva-
lier de St. George in 1709, 156 ;
English Jacobites request his
dismissal, 158-60
Middleton, or Myddelton, Mrs. Jane,
figures in the Mdmoires, 209, 212,
305-7
Middleton, John, first Earl of
Middleton, 9
Middleton, Louise Marie, 139, 141
n. 2
Mille et un Jours, 240, 242 ; Mille
et un Quarts d'heure, 240 j Mille
et une Nuits, 240, 242, 252, see
also Arabian Nights
Milner, Mr. J. D., 299 w. 3
Mirepoix, Madame de, 134, 167
Mitford, Rev. John, 212
Molidre, 22 n. 4, 177, 179, 180, 248,
251 n. i
Molina, Conde de, Spanish ambassa-
dor, objects to Englishmen enter-
ing French army, 30-1 ; objects
to the regiment d' Hamilton, 44-5
Moncnf, Fra^ois Auguste Paradis
de, 234
Monmouth, Duke of, see Scott,
James
Monsieur, see Oleans, Philippe
M. le Due, see Conde, Louis Henri
M. le Prince, see Conde, le grand
Montagu, Ralph, 15
Montague, Lady Mary Wortley,
167-8, 271 n. 3
Montaigne, 175, 179, 180, 235
Montauban, Comte de, 47
Montaut, Marquis de, 70
Montchevreuil, Marquise de, 115
Montecuculi, Count of, general of
the Imperial forces, 48, 50, 58
Montegut, Emile, 234 n. i, 235 n. 2,
250
Montespan, Fran9oise Athenais,
Marquise de, 112, 113
Montesquieu, Charles de Secondat
de, 1 80, 184, 256 ; admires
Arabian Nights, 240 n. 4
Montesquieu, Pierre de, Comte d'
Artagnan, 298
Montpensier, Anne Marie Louise
d'Orleans, Duchesse de, la grande
Mademoiselle, 41, 222
Moras, Mademoiselle de, 135
Moras, Marquise de, 134
Mouche, ordre de la, 134, 182
Mount joy, Lord, see Stewart
Mount joy, regiment, 74, 85, 93
Mouscri, see Muskerry
Mouton, le, 233
Murat, Madame de, writer, 193 . 4,
194, 198*1.1; fairy tales, 231,
254
Musaeus, Johann Karl August, 261
Musgrave, Sir William, 212
Muskerry, see MacCarthy
Muskerry, ,283
Nagle, Sir Richard, 82, 124
National Portrait Gallery, 33, 113,
299
Navailles, Marquis de, 70
Nee de La Rochelle, Jean, 192
neue Amadis, der, 262
Nevers, Philippe Jules Francis,
Due de, 132, 134, 135
Nevers, Duchesse de, 134
Nevers, Mademoiselle de, 134, 173
n. 3
Nevers, the, 181
Newcastle, Lord, see Pelham-
Holles
Newcomen, Sir Thomas, and his
regiment, 74, 76, 77, 79 n. i
Newton Butler, fight at, 95
Nicole, Pierre, 120
Nimeguen, peace of, 69
Ninon, see Lenclos
Noailles, Anne- Jules, Due de, 147
Noailles, Louis Antoine, Cardinal
Archbishop of Paris, 118^.4,
121, 130 n. 4
Noailles, Marie Franoise, Duchesse
de, 130
Nodier, Charles, 200 >/ i
Norfolk, Duke of, see Howard
Nostradamus, Nostradame, Michel
de, 181
Nouvelles ou Mtmoires historiques,
195 n. 2
Novel, the, in France, during the
second half of the seventeenth
century, 190 sq.
Novels, French, dealing with Eng-
lish history, 199 n. 3
Nugent, John, cousin of Anthony
Hamilton, 165
Nugent, Thomas, Lord Riverston,
1 06
Nugent, Major, 292
Nugent, Mrs. 140, 146
Nugent, the Misses, 139, 141 and
n. 2
Nugent, regiment, 293, 295
Nugents, the, 104, 124
356
ANTHONY HAMILTON
O'Brien, Charles, fifth Viscount
Clare, 139
O'Brien, Sir Donogh, of Lemineagh,
3
O'Brien de Clare, Laura, 140, 141
and ft. 2
O'Briens, the, 124
O'Conor, M., quoted, 104
O'Ferrals, the, 104
Oiseau bleu, /', 232, 233
O' Kelly, Charles, 105
Oldenburg, Henry, 201 ft.
Olonne, Madame de, 19 ft. i, 176
O'Mahony, Daniel, Count, 162 ft. 3
O'Neal, Charles. 128
O'Neal, Col. Gordon. 295 ; his
regiment, 295
O'Neale, or O'Neill, Captain Con,
52 . 3
O'Neill, Sir Neill, 100
O'Neill, Owen Roe, 4, 52 . 3
O'Neill, Phelim. 4
O'Neills, the, 104
Orange, William, Prince of, see
William, Prince of Orange, after-
wards William III
Oriental tale, in England, 257 ; in
France, 239-42, 255
Orleans, Charlotte Elisabeth,
Duchesse de, 12 n. 14, 120; on
the English at St. Germain, 128
ft. 2 ; Hamilton sends her MSS.,
147 ; her story of Gramont's
ignorance, 149 ; circulates the
Memoires, 205, 207 w. i, 301 ;
writes about the exiled court,
209
Orleans, Gaston, Due de, 18 ft. 2
Orleans, Henrietta, Duchess of, see
Henrietta
Orleans, Philippe I, Due de, 37, 66 ;
dislikes Gramont, 26 ; name
linked with Mme. de Gramont's,
in ; described by Prior, 125 . 4
Orleans, Philippe II, Due de, the
Regent, 182
Ormonde, see Butler, James
Orrery, Earl of, see Boyle
Osborne, Sir Thomas, Earl of
Danby, 50, 67
Oudenarde, battle of, 156
Oxford, Earl of (temp. Charles II),
see Vere
Oxford, Earl of (temp. Anne), see
Harley
Palatinate, wasting of, 53 andn. 3
Palatine, Princesse (Anne de Gon-
zague), 1 9 ft. i
Palmer, Lady Anne, 20
Palmerin d' Olive, 177
Panetra, Comtesse de, 305
Paris, Gaston, quoted 269 . i
Parliament, 63, 65 ; measures
against Catholics, 29 ; relations
with France, in 1667, 30 ; in
1675, 60-2 ; in 1677-8, 66, 67 ;
attitude to English forces in
French service, in 1667, 31-2 ;
in 1674, 51 ; in 1675, 55, 59-62 ;
in 1677, 66, 67 ; dispute between
Houses on right of appeal, 61 ;
prorogued, 55, 60, 61
Parnasse Francois, 269
Pascal, Blaise, 176, 177
Patin, Gui, opinion of English,
220-1
Pavilion, Etienne, 180
Peacock, Thomas Love, 260
Pelham-Holles, Thomas, Duke of
Newcastle, 160
Pellison, Paul, historiographer, 63
Penal va, Comtesse de, 305
Pepys, Samuel, 10, 1 5, 24 ft. i, 190 ;
regrets that the King is led by
favourites, 14 ; on the immorality
of the court, 210; his Diary, 221;
confirms Hamilton, 213; differs
from his statements, 21 5 ft. 4,
216 ; contrasted with Hamilton,
219, 220
Perrault, Charles, 178, 180; fairy
tales, 231, 233, 234
Perrault d'Armancour, his son, 232
Perth, Earl of, see Drummond,
James
Pcrtharite und Ferrandine, 261
Perwich, William, 45
Petis de la Croix, Francois, 240,
242' ft. 2
Petit-Dunoyer, Madame, writer,
192
Pharamond, 177, 228
Philip IV, King of Spain, 9, 1 5
Philip V, King of Spain, 120
Pienne, Madame de, see Fiesque,
Madame de
Pinkerton, John, 300
Plague, the, in London, ignored by
Hamilton, 33, 210
Ploydon, Countess, 138 ft. 2, 139
Poe, Edgar Allan, 251 ft. 2
Pointis, Marquis de, French officer
in Ireland, 83, 86 . 5, 87, 89,
92, 286
Poisons, affaire des, 112
Polexandre, 177, 233
Polignac, Madame de, 112
INDEX
357
Pomponne, Simon Arnauld de,
Foreign Secretary to Louis XIV,
letters to, 55, 61, 65 n. i ; on
Madame d'Hamilton as dame du
palais, 64 w. i
Pontchartrain, Louis Phelypeaux,
Comte de, 156
Popanilla, 260-1
Pope, Alexander, translation of
Essay on Criticism, 148, 266, 271,
quoted, 171
Popish plot, 52 n. 3, 112
Port Royal, Elizabeth Hamilton
educated there, 8 ; relations
with her subsequently, 114, 116,
118-22, 163
Portland, Earl of, see Bentinck
Portraits, of the Hamiltons, 299-
300
Portsmouth, Madame de, see
Keroualle
Pradon, Nicolas, 180
Precieuses, Dictionnaire des, see
Grand Dictionnaire, etc.
Preciosite, after Les Precieuses
Ridicules, 178-83 ; and the bur-
lesque, 249 . i
Preschac, de, writer, 231
Price, Miss, maid of honour, 213
n. i, 224
Primi-Visconti, G. B., 113 n. 4, 153
Prince de Condi, 193 w. 2, n. 6
Princess Royal (Mary, eldest daugh-
ter of Charles I), 307
Princesse de Carizme, 242 n. 2
Princesse de Cttves, 192
Prior, Matthew, on the piety of the
French court, 115 n. 5 ; on
James II, 124 M.I; on the
political atttude of the French
court, 125 ; on Monsieur, 125
n. 4 ; on the piety of St. Ger-
main, 127; on factions at St. Ger-
main, 128, 269
Progers, Edward, 204
Proposals made by Lieut.-Gen.
Hamilton to the garrison of
Londonderry, 162 n. 4
Purcell, Col. 104-5
Purcell's Dragoons, 288
Pusignan, French officer in Ireland,
84-7, passim
Pyr amide et le Cheval d'Or, La, 140,
242 n. 3, 254, 270
Quatre Facardins, Les, 255 ; written
for Countess F., 140 j negligences
171 n. 2 ; conte licencieux, 234 ;
satirical intentions, 241, 247-9,
250-3 ; date, 242 ; summary,
244-7 ; allusions, 253 ; used by
Wieland, 262, 263, 2*65 ; printed,
263 ; translated, 264 ; continua-
tions, 264-5
Quietisme, affaire du, 118
Quinault, Philippe, 71, 180
Quincy, Marquis de, military his-
torian, on the English in the
French army, 53 w. 3, 59
Quintin, Duchesse de, 134
Rabelais, 255
Racan, Marquis de, 177
Racine, Jean, 132, 177, 180, 182 ;
and Port Royal, 120, 121
Rambouillet, Angelique d'Angennes
Mademoiselle de, 178
Rambouillet, Catherine de Vivonne,
Marquise de, 182
Rambouillet, Hotel de, 133, 138,
181, 268
Rameau d'Or, 232, 233
Ranee, Arnaud Jean, Abbe de, 120
Rape of the Lock, 138
Reed, Isaac, 212
Regiments, various, see under Army
Relation historique et galante de
I' Invasion de I'Espagne, 191 n. i
Relations, various, by Hamilton, see
under Hamilton, Anthony
Remond le Grec, 271
Renouard, A. A., the publisher, 271
Reresby, Sir John, 21 and n. 2, 190,
213 ; his Memoirs, 221
Retraite de M. le Due de Longueville,
176
Rice, Sir Stephen, 83
Rices, the, 104
Richelieu, Marechal de, 226
Richelieu, Hotel de, 181
Richmond, Duke of, see Stuart
Ricousse, Baron de, 134
Riva, Louis, 142
Riverstown, or Riverston, Lord, see
Nugent, Thomas
Robartes, Letitia Isabella, Lady,
204
Robethon, John, 271
Rochefort, Marechal de, 59
Roches de Salisburi, 272
Rochester, Earl of (temp. Charles
II), see Wilmot
Rochester, Earl of (temp. James II),
see Hyde
Roman bourgeois, 233, 241 n. 3
Roman comique, 233, 241 n. 3
Roman Catholics, settle in Ulster,
3 ; condemn Ormonde, 5 ; in the
358
ANTHONY HAMILTON
English army, 29, 30, 32, 45 ;
hostility of England towards, 50 ;
Irish, in the French army, 52
n. 3, 68 ; in Ireland, under
James II, 74-7, passim ; wel-
come Richard Hamilton to Ire-
land, 83
Romantic Tales, 259, 264
Ronsard, Pierre de, 177
Roscommon, see Dillon
Rosen, Comte de, arrival, 84 ; at
Londonderry, 86 ; returns to
Dublin, 86 ; hated, 86 . 5 ;
sent back to Londonderry, 88
and n. 7 ; threatens Irish officers,
89 ; threatens Londonderry, 89 ;
his barbarity condemned, 90 ;
complains of the Irish, 92*1.1^;
presides over Anthony Hamilton's
court-martial, 96 ; to return to
France, 97 ; mentioned in
James's letters, 288, 290-2
Ross, Viscountess (Elizabeth
Hamilton), 96
Roth, Captain Michael, 83
Rousseau, Jean Baptiste, 115, 132,
272
Rousseau, Jean Jacques, 218*. 2
Roxolana, actress, probably Eliza-
beth Davenport, 199, 21311.2
Roye, Comte de, 58
Rupert, Prince, 8 n. 4, 49. 217
Russell, Col. John, 21, 214 andn. 3,
217
Russell, William, brother of Col.
John Russell, 214*1. 3
Russell, William, nephew of Col.
John Russell, 21, 217, 224
Russell's regiment, 77
Ruvigny, Henri de Massue, Mar-
quis de, ambassador, on the hos-
tility caused by Reformed Guard
entering French service, 30 ;
reports steps taken by Dutch to
secure men, 31 ; advises haste,
31 ; on Gramont, 55 ; is asked
to lend money to Anthony
Hamilton, for regiment, 56-7,
281-2 ; provided with grants
for members of Parliament, 60 ;
on possible recall of English
forces, 60- 1 ; is promised no
further proclamation will be
issued, 61 ; repeatedly requested
to ask that George Hamilton's
wife be made dame du palais,
64 n. 5
Ryde, H. T., 264
Ryswick, peace of, 125, 128
Sackville, Charles, sixth Earl of
Dorchester, 171
Sacy, de, see Le Maistre de Sacy
Saint Albans, Earl of, see Jermyn
Saint- Amant, Marc Antoine de, 1 80
Saint-Aulaire, Francois Joseph
Marquis de, 133, 270
Saint-Chaumont, Marquise de, 21,
ii2 n. 2
Saint-Dominique de Poissy, Sisters
of, 140
Saint-Evremond, Charles de Mar-
guetel de Saint Denys de, rela-
tions with Gramont, 17, 19, 20,
22 n. 4, 140, 226 ; on Gramont's
religion, 149-50 ; on the piety
of the French court, 1 1 5 n. 5 ;
indifferent to religion, 181 ; in-
fluence on Hamilton, 174-7 ; in-
fluence on Voltaire, 256-7 ;
figures in the Mimoires, 209 ;
uses the 'genre mixte,' 267
Saint George, Chevalier de, see
James Francis Edward Stuart
Saint-Hilaire, the elder, 58 ; the
younger, 58
Saint-Maurice, Marquis de, no,
in n. I
Saint Pavin, Denys Sanguin de, 181
Saint-Real, Cesar Vichard, Abbe
de, 194, 195
Saint-Ruth, French officer in Ire-
land, 106, 107
Saint-Simon, Louis de Rouvroy,
Due de, 22 n. 4, 208 ; on Mme.
de Gramont, 112-14; despises
Gramont, 113; on Mme. de
Gramont and Port Royal, 116,
120-2 ; on the Hamiltons, 129,
162, 163, 165, 166 ; on Chaulieu,
131 ; on Gramont, 149, 151-3 ;
reasons for hatred of Gramont,
1 5 1 n. 4 ; on Gramont's daugh-
ters, 166-7 ; on the Mimoires
de Grammont, 204, 207 ; his por-
traits, 224 ; writes about the
exiled court, 268
Saint-Victor, J. M. B. Bins de, 225
Sainte Beuve, Charles Augustin,
8 n. 5, 177; quoted, 182, 226
n. 3, 265 n. i, 269
Sainte-Marie de Chaillot, Sisters of,
140
Saintsbury, Professor George, 242
n. 2, 244, 260
Sandras, Gatien Courtilz de, 53 n. 3
190, 194 and n. 2, 195-7
Sarasin, Jean Francois, 177
Sarsfield, Patrick, Earl of Lucan,
INDEX
359
294 ; serves in the regiment d'
Hamilton, 44, 93 ; at the Boyne,
100 ; defence of Limerick, 103 ;
to assist Berwick, 104 ; dislikes
Tyrconnel, 104 ; suspects treason
105 ; hates Tyrconnel but pro-
tects him, 1 06 and n. 4 ; in
France, 107 ; lieut.-gen, 108
Savile, Henry, 36-7
Sayous, Pierre Andre, 234 n. i
Scaliger, Joseph Juste, 172 n. i
Scarron, Paul, 233, 237, 249 n. i
Schomberg, Frederick Herman,
first Duke, 91, 97, 100, 293
Schomberg, Meinhard, third Duke,
100
Scotland, Privy Council of, 2
Scott, Anne, Duchess of Buccleuch
and Monmouth, 204, 214
Scott, James, Duke of Buccleuch
and Monmouth, his regiments in
France, 42, 43, 53, 54, 58, 66, 68 ;
his rising, 75 and n. i ; his
marriage, 216
Scott, Sir Walter, 25 n. 3, 164, 227
Scottish regiments in the French
army, see Army, French
Scottish settlers in Ulster, 1-3
Scudery, Madame de, 70 n. 7
Scudery, Madeleine de, 180, 191
Sedley, or Sidley, Sir Charles, 3 08
Seignelay, see Colbert
Senantes, Madame de, 183, 209
Senantes, M. de, 186, 209, 222, 224
Senece, Antoine Bauderon de, 270
Serviez, Jacques Roergas de, 192
Sevigne, Marie de Rabutin Chantal,
Marquise de, 69, 208 ; on
Turenne's death, 58 ; on the
English soldiers, 59 ; on Mme. de
Gramont, in, 113 ; onGramont,
151 ; on fairy tales, 231 ; lan-
guage, 188 ; her letters, 222, 268 ;
portrait by Bussy, 198 n. 3
Sganarelle, 22 n. 4
Sheldon, Dominick, signs capitula-
tion of Limerick, 106 n. 2 ; briga-
dier in France, 108 ; accom-
panies the Chevalier de St.
George in the French army, 156,
296
Sheldon, Mrs., 139
Sheldons, the, 104, 124
Sheridan, Thomas, 138
Shore, Jane, 171 n. 2
Shrewsbury, Lady, see Talbot, Anna
Maria
Shrewsbury, Lord, see Talbot,
Francis
Skelton, Anne, 139-41
Skelton, Charles, Major-Gen., 155
Sidney, or Sydney, Algernon, quoted
25 n. 2
Sidney, or Sydney, Henry, Earl of
Romney, in the Memoires de
Grammont, 209, 213, 214, 308
Sidney, or Sydney, Sir Philip, in
L'Enchanteur Faustus, 171 n. 2,
172, 229
Silhouette, Etienne de, 271
Sinzheim, battle of, 53
Slaney's Foot, 295
Soissons, Marie Anne Mancini,
Comtesse de, no
Solms, Count, 91
Sopha, le, 173, 255
Sorel, Charles, 233, 241 n. 3
Sotheby, Wilkinson and Hodge,
Messrs., 301
Soubise, Madame de, 115
Soulavie, Jean Louis Giraud, 226
Sourches, Marquis de, his Memoires
quoted, 32 n. 6, 73, 124, 155
Southesk, see Carnegie
Southwold Bay, batttle of, 49
Spain, King of, see Philip
Spencer, Anne, Lady Sunderland,
26
Spencer, Robert, second Earl of
Sunderland, 26
Spies, Johann, 229
Spragge, Sir Edward, 29
Staal de Launay, Marguerite,
Baronne de, 132, 208
Stafford-Howard, Henry, Earl of
Stafford, 167
Stafford, Lady, see Gramont, Claude
Charlotte
Stanhope, Philip, second Earl of
Chesterfield, figures in the
Memoires, 204, 211, 213, 215, 216
Staniers, Col. Henry, 30
Stewart, Sir William, Viscount
Mountjoy, 83, 105, 108-9 ; his
regiment, 74, 85, 93
Story, George, 101
Strabane, Lord, see Hamilton,
Claud ; Hamilton, George
Strickland, Marie, 139, 141
Stuart, Charles, Duke of Lennox
and Richmond, 21 andn. 3, 215,
217
Stuart, Frances Teresa, Duchess
Lennox and Richmond, 13, 14.
figures in the Mtmoires, 28, 139,
1 86, 204, 209, 213, 215, 218, 263
n. i, 307-9
Sunderland, see Spencer
ANTHONY HAMILTON
Susane, General, quoted 34 n. 4
Sutherland's Horse, 295
Swift, Dean, 256
Sydney, see Sidney
Sylvius, Sir Gabriel 204 . I, 217,
224
Symonds, Miss E. M., 167 n. 5
Taaffe, Nicholas, second Earl of
Carlingford, 188
Talbot, Anna Maria, Countess of
Shrewsbury, liaison with Buck-
ingham, 38 n. 3 ; figures in the
Mimoires de la Cour d'Angleterre,
20 1 ; in the Mimoires de Gram-
mont, 209, 215, 216, 309
Talbot, Francis, eleventh Earl of
Shrewsbury ; in the Mimoires
de Grammont, 213, 215, 216, 309
Talbot, Mark, 106 n. 2
Talbot, Peter, 224
Talbot, Richard, Earl of Tyrconnel,
13. 21. 78. 93-5. 99-i;
marriage, 65 ; regiment in Ire-
land, 74, 295 ; lieut.-gen, 75 ;
remodels Irish array, 76, 77 ;
Lord-Lieutenant, 79 ; Richard
Hamilton sent to him to negotiate
peace, 81 ; resolves now to
resist, 82-3 ; promotes officers,
84 ; attached to the Hamiltons,
85 ; letters to Richard Hamilton,
85-7 ; the Hamiltons protected
by him, 95, 96, 97 ; writes
against Melfort, 96 ; at the
Boyne, 100-2 ; at Gal way, 103 ;
goes to France, 103 ; unpopular
with native party, 104 ; his
' creatures, 1 105 ; returns to
Ireland, 106 ; disliked by Sars-
field, 106 n. 4 ; death, 107 ;
figures in the Mimoires, 209, 216,
217
Talbots, the, 104
Tambonneau, president de, 185
Telimaque, 203, 232
Temple, Anne, afterwards Lady
Lyttleton, 204, 225
Temple, John, suggests sending of
Richard Hamilton to Ireland, 81 ;
suicide, 83
Temple, Sir William, 81, 139
Temple du Gout, 132
Termes, Gramont's valet, 186, 305,
218, 223, 224
Tesse, Chevalier de, French officer
in Ireland, 106 n. 2
Tetu, Abbe, 181
Thackeray, William Makepeace,
157 n. 4, 225
ThSophile, see Viau
Thianges, Marquise de, 115
Thurles, Thomas, Viscount Thurles,
Tilley, Mr. Arthur, i8ow. i
Tilly, Pierre Alexandre de, 226
Timandre et Bleuette, 234
Tiran le Blanc, 177
Titon du Tillet, Evrard, 269
Torcy, see Colbert
traite simuU, the, 37-40, 43
Tregaskis, Mr., 301
Trench, Richard Le Poer, second
Earl of Clancarty, 264 n. 2
Trimlestown, Lord, 300
Triple Alliance, 35
True Relation of the Action of the
Inniskilling Men, 94
Turenne, Henri de La Tour d'
Auvergne, Vicomte de, 62, 130,
192, 195. 198 n. 4, 209, 226 ; on
the Yssel, 46 and n. 3 ; joined by
the regiment d'Hamilton, 48 ;
attempts to engage the Im-
perialists in battle, 279 ; re-
verses, 50 ; popularity with
English, Irish and Scottish regi-
ments. 50, 53, 59 ; quoted on
Irish affairs, 52 n. 3 ; atSinzheim
53 ; at Entzheim, 54 ; cam-
paign of the Vosges, 54 ; Mul-
house and Turckheim, 55 ; still
in Alsace, 57 ; death, 58 ; suc-
cessors, 59
Tuscany, Grand Duke of, Cosmo
the Third, 36 and n. 3, 1 13 n. 4
Typhon, 248
Tyrconnel, Duke of, see Talbot,
Richard
Tyrconnel, Lady, see Jennings,
Frances
Ulster, Scottish settlers in, 1-3 ;
Roman Catholics in, 3, 52 n 3 ;
holds out against James, 81 ; see
also, Enniskillen, Londonderry
Urfe, Honore d', 248
Ursins, Marie Anne de laTremoille,
Princesse des, 154*1. I and 3
Usage des Romans, 193 n. i, 198
n. i
Usson, d', French officer in Ireland,
io6n. 2
Van Beuninghen, Dutch ambassa-
dor, and Gramont, 38
Vancl, , writer, 192, 195
INDEX
361
Varillas, Antoine, 195
Vaubrun, Marquis de, 54
Vaudry, Edward, 288
Vendome, Louis Joseph, Due de,
130-2, 182
Vendome, Philippe, le Grand Prieur,
130-3, 182
Vere, Aubrey de, twentieth Earl of
Oxford, in the Memoires de
Grammont, 187, 213 n. i ; in the
Memoires de la Cour d'Angleterre,
199
Vergest, Marquis de, 41 n. 3
Vergier, Jacques, 270
Vertot, Rene Aubert, Abbe de, 195
Viau, Theophile de, 180
Vie de ] . B. Colbert, 192, 193 n. 6
Villars, Claude Louis Hector, Mare-
chal de, 142, 156, 157
Villedieu, Madame de, writer, 192,
193 w. 4, 194, 196
Villeroy, Fra^ois de Neufville,
Marechal de, 72 (?), 154
Villiers, Abbe de, 193 n. 5, 232
Villiers, Barbara, Lady Castle-
maine, afterwards Duchess of
Cleveland, 13 ; knows Gramont,
20 ; conversion, 24 n. i ; her
daughter, 26 ; in love with
Jermyn, 210 ; figures in Hattigi,
200 and n. i ; in the Memoir es
de Grammont, 186, 209, 213, 214
n. i, 215, 227 n. i, 305, 309
Villiers, George, second Duke of
Buckingham, Pepys deplores his
influence, 14 ; dances in ballet,
19 ; anger at Madame's death,
37 ; promotes the traite simule
with Gramont, 37-8, 62, 206 ;
quarrels with him, 39, 40 ; figures
in French novels, 199, 200 n. i,
20 1 ; in the Memoires de Gram-
mont, 209, 213, 215, 216, 307
Virelai sur les Hollandais, 270
Virgile Travesty, 248
Vizetelly, Mr. Henry, 212, 227
Voisenon, Claude Henri, Abbe de,
225 n. 5, 226 ; oriental tales, 234
255
Voisin, Catherine, ' la Voisin,' 112
Voiture, Vincent, at the Hotel de
Rambouillet, 138-9; influence
on Hamilton, 146, 172 n. 3, 173,
175, 178-9, 248, 268 ; admired
at the end of the seventeenth
century, 179-81 ; described by
La Fontaine, 272
Volksm&rchen, 261
Voltaire, Fran9ois Marie Arouet de,
165, 179, 189 ; on Hamilton's
birthplace, 7 ; friend of the
Vendomes, 131 ; of Hamilton,
132 ; of Madame du Maine, 133 ;
influenced by Hamilton, 176,
255-6, 267 ; on the Memoires de
Grammont, 207, 222, 224 ; poet
of the Marechal de Richelieu,
226 ; on Hamilton's tales, 233 ;
his own tales, 234 ; compared
with Hamilton's, 255-6; his
tales translated, 257 ; praises
Hamilton's poetry, 269 ; in-
fluence on Beckford, 258-9 ; on
Peacock and Disraeli, 260-1
Volupti, la, 271-2
Voss, Johann Heinrich, 261
Voyage d'Espagne, 199
Voyage, de Chapelle et Bachaumont,
267
Voyage merveilleux du Prince Fan
Firedin dans la Romancie, 250
Waldegrave, Henry, first Baron
Waldegrave, 95
Wales, Prince of, see James Francis
Edward Stuart
Walker, George, 86, 89
Walpole, Horace, fourth Earl of
Orford, 171, 174 ; and the
Memoires de Grammont, 71, 212,
220, 225 ; his Hieroglyphic Tales,
259-60 ; influenced by Hamil-
ton's tales, 264 ; on Lady
Stafford, 167 ; on Hamilton's
portrait, 299
Walpoliana, quoted, 300
Walrond family of Dulford House,
300
Warmestry, Miss, maid of honour,
21, 188, 213 n. i, 305, 306
Wauchope, John, 106 n. 2, 108
Wharton, Philip, Duke of Wharton,
168
Wells, Winifred, maid of honour,
1 86
Westmeath's regiment, 295
Wetenhall, Mrs., see Bedingfield
Wetenhall, Thomas, 185, 217
Wetzel, Friedrich Gottlob, 225
Wieland, Christoph Martin, prefers
Part II of the Mtmoires, 210
his Prince Biribinker, 220 n. 3
on les Quatre Facardins, 234 w. i
influenced by Hamilton, 261-4
Willard, M., friend of Port Royal,
1 20
362
ANTHONY HAMILTON
William of Orange, afterwards
William III, war of 1672-8, 48,
50, 51, 53, 57, 66, 67 ; prepara-
tions for invasion, 79, 284 ;
landing in England, 80 ; does
not realize gravity of Irish
resistance, 81 ; grants pass to
Richard Hamilton, 82 ; war in
Ireland, 83, 89, 105 ; at the
Boyne, 99-102 ; acknowledged
by Louis XIV, 125 ; plot against
him discovered, 129
Williamson, Sir Joseph, letters to,
44, 279 ; takes steps against
Hattigt, 200 . i ; send MS. to
Dom Luc d'Achery, 237 n. i
Wilmot, John, second Earl of
"^Rochester, 150 ;' holiday writer,'
171 ; figures in the Memoires,
209, 213, 215, 225
Witt, Cornelius de, 48
Witt, John de. Grand Pensionary,
38.48
Wood, Dr. physician to the Cheva-
lier de St. George, 296-8
Wurtzburg, Bishop of, 50, 279-80
Yarborough, Sir Thomas, 263 . i
York, Duchess of, see Hyde, Anne
York, Duke of, see James II
Zadig, 256
Zalde, Zayde, 232
Zeneyde, date, 126 n. i ; introduc-
tion quoted, 1 26 ; pessimism of
introduction, 138 ; written for
Mme Ploydon, 139; discussed,
227-9 ; used by Wieland, 261-2 j
printed, 263 ; translated, 264 ;
completed, 265
Zurlauben, French officer in Ire*
land, 102
BINDING SL^r. JUL 3-1968
Clark, Ruth
Anthony Hamilton
H3C6
PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE
CARDS OR SLIPS FROM THIS POCKET
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY
